A Heart's Howl
by ChemicalCountess
Summary: They both have fangs, they're both hungry, and they both want to mark me as their own. Even if it means killing me in the process. That's what you get when you let your heart win.
1. First Glance editedextendedx2

**Hello, hello! I've been reading vampire fics lately and have gotten really into them. But I don't want to include **_**just**_** vampires ;)**

**Enjoy! And please review if worthy!**

**Summary: They both have fangs, they're both hungry, and they both want to mark me as their own; even if it means killing me in the process. That's what you get when you let your heart win.**

**NOTE:  
(1) I do not own Naruto.  
(2) I do not own any of the quotes or lyrics that I cite.  
(3) A lot was inspired by Stephanie Meyer's **_**Twilight Saga **_**but most of it is my own.  
(4) I was really paranoid at first about writing this story because I didn't want anyone to steal my idea, so please don't. Please and thank you!  
(5) This was set in a modern day boarding school.  
(6) This chapter was edited/extended/re-uploaded for a second time. (Sorry if you get notifications about that, but I'm kind of OCD about grammar and I tweaked a few things.)  
(7) Sorry about changing the title from "My Blood, His Lust". I like this one a lot better and it suits the story more.**

**I know I'm being a little inconsistent, but I finished finals a week ago and my sleeping pattern and way, way, wayyyyy thrown off (like I can't fall asleep intil 7am) so I'm kind of out of it :/**

**Anyways, here we go…**

* * *

A HEART'S HOWL

**Chapter 1: First Glance**

_"I know your type, boy you're dangerous,_  
_You're that guy I'd be stupid to trust._

-Cobra Starship

* * *

"Hinata." I heard someone call me.

"_Hinata_." The voice got louder, but it was still muffled.

"_**Hinata**_." There was a pound or two on the door.

I realized then that Ten-Ten must have accidentally locked herself out again. "I'm up!"

"Thanks." She practically threw herself on her bed.

"Spent the night at Neji's?"

"Yeah. I figured to wake you up now rather than last night."

I giggled. "Thanks."

"The new transfer students are coming today aren't they?"

"Mhm." I took a sip of the juice I left in the mini-fridge.

"Sakura's gotta be wicked excited."

"For the new transfers?"

"Yeah, her boyfriend is one of them."

"Oh, the Sasuke we've heard so much about."

"More like the Sasuke she never shuts up about."

There was no fighting the truth in that.

"You laugh like it's a joke, but damn, she hasn't shut up about him ever since they started going out."

"Yeah…I remember that one time in Chemistry…"

"When I almost smacked her across the face with a beaker? Yeah. I wish I did." She turned over to stretch her arms. The beds in the dorms aren't a good size for two people. "Yet again there was concentrated sulfuric acid it in…"

Ten-Ten never failed to make me laugh. It's one of the reasons why we grew so close. She was like the positive force that balanced my father's negative attitudes towards me for any reason he could think of.

"Aw man, I forgot there was a history exam today!" She realized when she saw my history book and notes out.

"Don't worry it's just a quiz."

"Yeah, but I don't know shit!"

"I'll help you."

"Thank you! You are a life saver!"

"No problem."

* * *

The food was particularly good at breakfast. The eggs weren't as tasteless, the bacon was actually crispy, and the English muffins weren't as burnt.

"They must be trying to impress the new transfers." Ten-Ten took a huge bite of her hand made breakfast sandwich. "But I have no complaints about that."

"Here you guys are!" Sakura came into the scene, boy in hand. "This is Sasuke." She beamed, showing off who she referred to a few days ago as her 'hunk of mayun'.

"Sasuke, this is Hinata and Ten-Ten. And there's Ino! You sit, I'll be right back!"

"She needs to take a chill pill." Ten-Ten whispered to me, then turned to the dark eyed boy who was staring into space, bored. "So where did you transfer from?"

He looked at her stoically, as if deciding whether or not to answer her. "A school."

"…What school?"

This time he didn't even answer. He just turned away.

Ten-Ten was trying very hard to let that one slide. She tensed and relaxed, let out "Asshole" and turned her attention back to her food and history notes.

"Sasuke, this is Ino!" Sakura jumped back, in between them.

"Hey!" Ino smiled.

He nodded.

"Not much of a talker is he?" She asked Sakura.

"He is once you get to know him!"

"I'm sure." Ten-Ten snuck into their conversation.

"Be nice!"

"Don't tell _me_ that."

I remained silent. I could see how dinner later tonight is going to go.

"Hey guys, look!" Ino turned everyone's attention to the food line.

"I said I was sorry!" A familiar thin boy with a round crude hair cut was wiping sauce off his uniform.

"You better be!" A bigger boy with purple tattoos smothered apple sauce into the other boy's bushy browed face. "Watch where you're going next time!" He threatened and pushed the thinner boy to the floor.

Everyone in the dining hall stopped and stared as the boy with the tattoos left.

Our entire table rose.

"Lee, are you okay?" Ten-Ten helped him to his feet.

"Yeah. Thanks." He took the napkin Ino handed to him and wiped his face.

"What happened?"

"I was just in line with my tray and I turned around to find a place to sit. I didn't know he was behind me and accidently bumped into him, but I didn't even spill anything on him. He got mad and flicked my cup of applesauce onto my shirt. Then he smashed more applesauce into my face and pushed me. You guys probably saw that."

"The rest of the school did, too." Sasuke added, noticing that every eye in the room was centered on them.

"Lee, this is Sasuke by the way." She locked herself onto her man's arm.

"So you are the Sasuke who has stolen the love of my life from me!" He pointed accusingly.

"Lee! Calm down!" Sakura was beginning to turn red. "Everyone is staring!"

"He must be a new transfer."

"Is he from your school, Sasuke?"

"No."

"Yeah, I would definitely remember someone like him if they came from my school."

"Then where'd he come from?"

"Who cares, let's just get to class. Guy said he'd give me detention if I was late again."

Everyone else in the dining hall decided that the show was over and went back to their own business.

I went back to the table we were sitting at to get my book bag, but was overcome with this chilling feeling; like I was being watched. It was that eerie feeling that could prick your skin without you having to see who it was. I scanned the cafeteria, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary; everyone was either eating, or doing last minute homework.

Then something fiery red caught my attention; it was someone's hair. He was sitting in the farthest corner slouching with his back on the table. He had dark rings around his eyes and a tattoo on his forehead. I'd never seen him before, but he was very intimidating.

From my peripheral I could tell he was looking in my direction for what felt like a very long minute. I took a glance at the strange boy, but didn't expect to make eye contact. Most people would look away. He kept staring, so I looked away. I had a class to get to and I wasn't about to be late for it and have my father berate me for it.

* * *

"We set up everything right." Ino told our chemistry professor. "The burette was clean and we have the correct concentration of acid, base, and buffer solution. But for some reason, we can't get the pH of the solution lower than 5.7."

"Well, let's see..." The professor was explaining something to us while she was examining our pH meter, but I couldn't focus. I had that weird feeling again, like I was being watched. I looked around, but everyone who was in the class was supposed to be in the class.

"Hinata!" Ino whispered to me while we were preparing the procedure for a second titration run.

"Hm?"

"Not to freak you out, but there's a guy staring on you through the window."

I turn to the window directly across from us, and it's the guy with the red hair.

"Is he following me or something?" I turned away quickly.

"What? Following you?"

"I think he was staring at me earlier at breakfast...but he was probably just staring into space and I just happened to stand there..."

"Oh." She thought for a moment, but then wiggled her eyebrows. "Maybe he thinks you're cute."

I turned back to the window and he was gone.

"Creepy."

"Maybe he's trying to find a way to talk to you or something."

"By following me?"

"Well, that's what some shy guys do when they see a really cute girl, but have nothing to talk about. Some will semi-stalk the girl and find out her likes and dislikes and stuff. You know, like in the movies."

"I don't particularly _want_ to be semi-stalked."

"True. Will you give him a chance if he asks you out or something?"

"I'm kind of scared to talk to him...he seems like a real creep."

"He does look intimidating, but hot at the same time."

"Ino, he has no eyebrows."

"But yet, he makes it work. Don't tell me you didn't notice his biceps?"

I just looked at her. A guy is creeping on me and she's thinking about how he can work not having eyebrows. Typical Ino.

"He could be a nice guy. If he tries talking to you, will you give him a shot?"

"...I guess?"

"Let me know what happens, kay?" She winked.

"What makes you so sure that something will happen?"

"The way he looks at you."

"...How does he look at me?"

"Like he likes what he sees. Just be careful in case he's one of those guys who just want to score or whatever."

"That's comforting."

"Just saying. Nice guys who genuinely like you are hard to find at this school, mostly because half of them are taken."

"I can't argue with that."

I looked around the room and see everyone's already almost done with their experiments. "We're behind again."

"Good thing we both have a free period after this class."

"Yeah, I know."

"Hinata?"

"Hm?"

She pointed behind me.

I turned and saw the guy with the red hair at the window again.

We made eye contact for the second time, and this time, I could see his eyes were a deep blue. They seemed familiar, but then he disappeared again.

"Whether he thinks I'm cute or not," I told Ino, "I'm not interested in a guy who looks at me like I'm something to eat."

* * *

**Hope you liked the first chapter. It's more spontaneous than **_**A Wallflower's Curse**_**. But I like the way it's going so far for the most part.**

**I haven't really decided who should get fangs yet, but we'll see.**

**Next chapter will be up soon! Review if worthy, please! :)**


	2. First Encounter

**Here's the next chapter, hope you like it! **

**To answer some previous questions, no, I don't have everything planned out. Most of it is, but some of my best ideas come out as I write. But I hope you enjoy nonetheless!**

**Review if worthy, please! :)**

* * *

A HEART'S HOWL

**Chapter 2: First Encounter**

"_You're the one, I have decided."_

-Train

* * *

At last the dreaded lab was over. The titration was finished and the professor was satisfied with our results and the notes we took.

Ino decided to nap since she almost walked into a wall three times getting back to the dorms.

"Maybe she's right." I was debating with myself. "Maybe he is nice and is just too shy to talk to me. But there's also the chance that he's just a creeper. In any case I'll decide later."

I didn't realize how tired I was until I dropped my bag onto the floor and collapsed on my bed. "Ino's not the only one who stayed up late finishing that biology project."

_**Tink. **_

_**Tink.**_

I tried to ignore that annoying sound.

_**Tink.**_

_**Tink.**_

I lifted my head to see pebbles hitting my window.

_**Tink.**_

_**Tink.**_

I dragged myself out of my comfy bed and peered through the glass to see Kiba waving with Shino standing next to him. "Come on! It's a beautiful day out!"

I lifted up the window and realized what he was talking about when a cool breeze snuck in. "Alright, I'm coming!

Kiba already made himself comfortable on the grass waiting for me. "How do you always know when I'm about to take a nap?" I took a seat next to a tree.

"Because I always know when you have a project due because Ino always complains about them, and whenever you have a project you tend to procrastinate."

I giggled. "I'm just that predicatble?"

"Yup." He smirk. "You aren't going to fall asleep now are you?"

"No, I'm just resting my eyes."

"Oh, Hinata?"

"Yeah?"

"Didja hear what happened last night?"

"Something happened?"

"Yeah, a girl went missing."

"What! Who!"

"I don't know she's a freshman. I don't know many freshmen."

"Does anyone know what happened?"

"From what I hear, the girl's roommate called campus police." Shino decided to join the conversation, stepping out of the bushes with his latest specimen in an old glass pickle jar. "The girl went to see her boyfriend in the building next door and promised to return in an hour, but never did. No one has seen her since last night. The police questioned her boyfriend, but according to him, she never showed up."

"Maybe she had a sudden emergency back home or something?" I hoped.

"No. Unfortunately, campus police called her parents and they have no idea as to where she could have gone."

"…That's scary."

"Yeah, so promise me not to walk around campus alone at night?" Kiba looked at me with pleading eyes.

I paused for a minute. It never failed to touch me how much Kiba and Shino cared for me and for that I was grateful. "Okay, I promise." I gave them a reassuring smile.

"Thank you. Especially someone as accident-prone as you."

"I am not accident-prone."

"Okay, you're an accident magnet."

"Hn." I let that one slide. "So how are you and you-know-who?"

"Who?"

"That girl you've been seeing for the past week."

"Okay, let's not talk about that. She's been getting on my nerves lately. She complains about _everything_."

"Hmhm."*

* * *

The day went by relatively quickly; the project presentations in biology weren't as painfully boring as anticipated, the history quiz was only extra credit, and gym class was cancelled because Guy pulled another muscle trying to show off his acrobatics.

Dinner didn't go so smoothly. Ten-Ten was not happy sitting with who she calls 'the prick with the hair that's shaped like a bird's behind'. He almost lost some of his wonderous hair when Ten-Ten accidentally dropped a piece of toast in the oven and caught fire from overheating.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the movies with us?" Sakura looked at me with puppy-dog eyes, hanging off the door, tilting her head trying to look as cute as possible. She must get Sasuke with that look.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm exhausted and I still have work to do. And we're going out tomorrow anyways."

"But it's Friday!"

"Yeah, I know, but I have too much stuff to do. I want to feel some form of accomplishment this weekend."

"Ok then. We'll see you tomorrow." She sighed in defeat.

"See you guys." The door clicked behind her.

Time again to do all my homework by tomorrow when it comes time to e-mail my father about how school is going. That way he won't be mad at me for not finishing my work early, like Neji.

"Homework in every subject. Awesome."

_**Knock-knock.**_

"Sakura, I'm really not going!" I yelled through the door.

_**Knock-knock.**_

"Ugh."

_**Knock-knock.**_

"I told you I'm not go – " It wasn't Sakura at the door. I was staring at the collar of someone's white dress shirt - standard boy's uniform. I elevated my eyes and saw that it was the boy with the red hair who was standing at my door with his eyes intently on mine.

He didn't say anything. He just stared at me with a penetrating gaze. I didn't have to question whether he was staring at me this time.

His eyes were a very strange kind of blue. It wasn't a magnificant new shade or anything, it was sky blue. But they were strange in that they there didn't seem to be any color variation; just a solid blue. I could see my reflection perfectly in his eyes. Then I remembered that Ino said in chemistry.

I broke eye contact and shook off the chills that continued to crawl down my spine. Then he looked confused.

"I-I'm s-sorry, can I help y-you with s-something?" My eyes wondered back to his face.

He didn't answer. He just walked away and turned the corner.

I blinked, confused. "What was the point of that?"

I sat at my desk, leaned back, sighed, and let my face meet my notebook. "I'm not going to get much work done am I?" I opened my cell phone and texted Ino and Ten-Ten.

My books were staring at me, waiting. "Don't look at me like that." I picked up my biology book first, but it was hard to focus on the process of photosynthesis when a boy with definite creep potential, blazing red hair, and no eye brows shows up at your door to just stare are you and leave.

Then I realized something that was probably important to consider. At this school, there are approximately two thousand students. About one-thousand four hundred lived on campus. "How did he find out where my room was?"

"How did who find out where your room was?"

"Oh! Hey Ten-Ten." I didn't even notice someone was unlocking the door.

"Are you talking about the kid you just texted me about?"

"Yeah. He just left a minute ago."

"Hm. I didn't see anyone on my way up the stairs."

"Really? Hm. I'm pretty sure he's a transfer, I've never seen him before."

"Then he must be quick on his feet cause there are no open spaces on this floor or any floor below us. That is assuming he's living on campus." She placed her things on her desk then stopped. "Wait…is he the same guy that was staring at you during your chemistry class?"

"Ino told you?"

"Is there any doubt?"

I sighed. Ino Yamanaka was known for three things at this school and of those three one of them was her reputation for being the biggest gossiper in our class.

"Did he make a move or anything?"

"No. He just stared at me, then left. It was…awkward…"

She laughed. "I would imagine."

"What does he look like? Is he cute?"

"Maybe you've seen him. Tall, bright red hair, blue eyes with dark rings around them, no eyebrows, never smiles."

She paused to think for a minute. "Nope. He doesn't sound very attractive."

"I don't know. I haven't really put much thought into how he looked. Ino thinks he's hot."

"She does have good taste." She was looking through the mail she picked up from the campus post office.

_**Knock-Knock.**_

My beloved roommate approached the door and looked through the peephole.

"Who is it?" I was curious.

"I don't see anyone." She peered down both ends of the hallway to make sure it wasn't Naruto about to pull another prank on us. Last month he put plastic wrap on the outside of our door. It took us twenty minutes to cut our way out. "Probably some idiot playing ding-dong-ditch." That has happened before also, and that also was Naruto.

Ten-Ten locked the door behind her and laid on her bed with the most recent issue of _Cosmopolitan_.

No one was at the door when she answered, but I had a feeling who it was from the familiarity of the knocking: harsh, quick, and smooth. I know in the pit of my stomach that I was going to see that red-haired boy again. And for some reason he has a particularly interest in me. "But I can't think about that now. I have work to do."

* * *

**Author's note:**

"Hmhm"* is a giggle.

**Hope you likey this chappy. More on the way soon.**

**Review if worthy please! :)**


	3. The Right Word

**Next chapter up! Hope you like it! Sorry I'm not good at updating very well. I know that can be a pain for some people :/**

**But summer's here and so is more time to write! Review if worthy, please! :)**

* * *

A HEART'S HOWL

**Chapter 3: The Right Word**

_"We learn to run from_  
_Anything uncomfortable."_

-Paramore

* * *

_Monday, oh how I loathe thee._

Ten-Ten used the most annoying, ear-shattering alarm to make sure we'd wake up in time after an unproductive, but relatively fun-filled weekend.

"No! Stay Sunday!" She hit the poor, abused clock.

"Sunday passed seven hours ago." I reminded her reluctantly.

But at least it's been two weeks since that boy with the red hair showed up at my door and hasn't come back since. Perhaps it was for the best. The only problem was that I couldn't keep him out of my mind for longer than a few days. I wasn't sure if it was out of curiosity, captivation, or concern. I'm leaning towards the latter. I'd never had a stalker before and I prefer not to start. Ever.

"I _told_ you!" Ino insisted that the boy with the red hair really liked me.

"It was creepy." I failed to put in words how creepy it was exactly. "Like a hit and run. But it was a creep and run."

"...Creep and run?" She gave me the 'are you serious?' look.

"That's exactly what it was! He comes to my door, stares at me, and runs away. Well, stalk away, but you get the picture."

"The only thing I'm picturing is him trying to ask you out."

"Ino, he's a creep."

"Ok, he is really creepy, _BUT_, he's really interested in meeting you!"

"I'm not even sure if 'meeting' is the right word for it. It's like he gets enough of just staring at me without saying a single word and then leaving."

"Aw, I think that's cute. It's like he's so infatuated with you that seeing you is enough for him." She made a cat face.

I shook my head. "I don't really think 'infatuated' is the right word either…"

"Alright class!" Our art teacher directed us to the room above the gymnasium used for presentations and shows. "Here is where you will all present your paintings at the end of the week. I'm telling you now because for Friday's class we're just meeting here. And I'll now pass around a hand out of where everyone will be placed." A pile of white with black ink circulated through the unorganized mass of student that was our art class that was already over capacity. "It'll be a little crowded because all three sections of this class will have all their paintings here. Now, class is dismissed, I look forward to seeing your masterpieces on Friday, and I'll see you all in class tomorrow."

"Oh shit." Ino cursed.

"You forgot we had a project due didn't you?"

"...Kind of..."

"Excuse me, ladies," A man with a long blonde ponytail and long bangs covering his left eye approached us, "but I overheard your teacher's announcements about an art show on Friday?"

"Oh, yeah, it's just a small presentation of our projects from all this year." Ino replied. With that hair, he could pass for Ino's brother. I watched as he stroked his bangs gracefully – but also in a show-offy manner.

"Ceramics or clay pieces, too, yeah?"

"Sorry, not that I know of."

"Oh, I see." He turned towards me all of a sudden. "How rude of me! Bothering you girls without introductions, yeah? My name is Deidara."

"I'm Ino, and this is my friend Hinata." She gestured towards me.

I flashed a smile in greeting.

"Nice to meet you ladies. I just couldn't help but wonder because I am a huge fan of art. I'm looking very forward to this little showing."

"Are you a new teacher here?"

"Well, I just recently graduated. I'm just visiting some old friends and decided to drop by for a visit here." He looked to the side as he said that. _He's lying_. But I let it go.

"Oh, that's nice of you."

"Thank you, but unfortunately, I'm running late. I will see you two and your works on Friday, yeah?"

"Probably, if I don't fail the class." Ino sighed.

He nodded and smiled on his way out.

"Ino, no one fails art." I told her.

"You haven't seen my paintings yet."

* * *

Lunch was not enjoyable.

"Mystery meat can remain a mystery because I am not exploring it." Ten-Ten poked the lump of meat on her plate with the fork to see if it would move on its own. Fortunately, it didn't.

"I think it's safe to say it's dead." Naruto made a face at the thing. "It's definitely not ramen." He had to force the bite of meat down his throat in order not to choke from failure of swallowing.

Everyone laughed, including me. We were having a good time out of an ordinary meal, but then I had that feeling again. It came over me like an overwhelming sense of danger. I hadn't felt it in two weeks, but it was still as sharp as the last time I felt him lingering around, boring his eyes into my figure. I didn't turn around, I didn't care to look, and I didn't care to see him; more so I didn't want to see him because I wanted to keep him out of my mind.

"At least gym's cancelled again." Ino smiled as we headed back to the dorms. She and I have the exact same schedule.

"I feel bad that Guy pulled something again, though."

"Yeah. But he's not getting any younger, he really needs to watch his back. Literally. That man's going to have so many back problems later if he keeps trying to live up to his 'youth" She stopped abruptly and her jaw dropped. "Ah! I almost forgot!" A flyer for the Spring formal this Saturday caught Ino's excited little blue eyes. "I need to show you my dress!" And by that she meant dress-_es_. She never picks less than five to decide between every opportunity she has to dress up. "That reminds me." She raised her eyebrows at me. "I still haven't found you a _date_ yet." She smirked.

"Don't. Please." I closed my eyes and shuddered at the sheer awkwardness of the idea.

"Why not!" She whined.

"I'm not interested in anyone in this school."

"You don't know every guy in this school."

"I'm not interested in anyone I've met so far at this school."

"Not even – " I knew she would say Naruto. I had a crush on him freshmen year, I'm over it.

"No. I just want to go to the dance and have fun with you guys. That's all I want."

"Fine." She rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I need you to help me choose which one to wear." She opened her wardrobe. "I bought seven for safety."

* * *

I already had to listen to Ino drabble on for two hours straight about which pairing of shoes and dress to wear for the blasted event and an e-mail from my father was just icing on the damned cake. It wasn't something I wanted to talk about either, but my best friend always knows.

"What's wrong?"

How could I not know that Ten-Ten would notice? I was slumped in my chair with a probable look of death on my face (my death, that is), and couldn't even smile at the latest youtube video she found.

"It is your dad again?"

I looked at her, frown and all. "Yeah…"

"What is it this time?"

"He's not pleased with my latest B+ in Biology."

She closed her eyes and breathed out heavily. "It's not like you're failing."

"Yeah I know but he expects straight A's at least. 'Straight A+'s are preferable, though'." I quoted my father's latest e-mail. I just left out the part where he mentioned Hanabi's four A+'s and two A's. She's five years younger than me, we shouldn't be compared this much. We're too different. But in the eyes of my father I will forever live in comparison, if not in the shadow of my little sister.

"It's a progress report. Just don't worry about it."

"Easier said than done." I've tried ever since I was little to not let my father get to me. But it's difficult living in a family of high expectations where how much respect you get from anyone is parallel to how much respect you earn from your father.

"You'll be fine."

"I hope." It was hard too sometimes. Hoping.

"Come on, cheer up." She gave me a reassuring smile. "Let's get some ice cream from the place down the street."

I felt a slight weight lift from my overly stressed shoulders and smiled. "Alright."

It was like Ten-Ten knew how much pleasing my father meant to me and knew how to make me feel better about it. When I was depressed for a month from my father's scolding about how I almost disgraced the family name for earning a B- in Chemistry, she got me back on my feet to work harder in only two days with a gallon of ice cream and a series of hilarious youtube videos. I couldn't imagine being able to stand the slight tyranny of my father without her. She helped me save myself from my own self-doubt. And for that I was grateful.

"I've been dying to try that new flavor they got: Bee's Knees." I was grateful for her good taste, also. We were already half way down the hall when Ten-Ten realized she'd forgotten her wallet.

"I'll wait right here." I told her, standing next to the janitor's closet.

Then I heard a sound that made me jump. It sounded like a girl in pain, whimpering. Instinctly, my head whipped towards the weird noises from the closet. It seemed strange seeing as it was close to ten and every Monday after nine nearly everyone was already passed out from lack of sleep Sunday night.

Placing my hand on the knob I was debating whether or not to find out what was going on behind that door. It could be something, it could be nothing. I could just be going crazy from lack of sleep. It seemed probable.

With curiosity eating at my fingertips, I felt the knob turn and pulled gently until it cracked enough for me to peek inside.

And what I saw, I was not prepared to see: Sasuke feeling up Sakura against the wall while their tongues were lodged in a wrestling match. I caught a glimpse of him nibbling and dragging his teeth down her neck and her letting out a full out moan before I closed the door. I was able to see that because the top of her shirt was unbuttoned and her black bra strap was visible to the naked eye.

Oh, the pure unadulterated...ness...

I heard the quiet _**click**_ of the door meeting the hinge as reassurance that I would be spared from further embarrassment of seeing a girl I was very close friends with…doing that with her boyfriend…

It wasn't uncommon; students…doing things where ever they could find privacy on campus. But it was still something I didn't particularly want to witness. I was not a fan of PDA let alone _that_.

Dreading that they had seen me witness them…having an affair, I walked back down the hall, trying to wash away the redness on my face, thinking about something else. Ice cream. Ice cream's good.

"Got it." My beloved roommate stepped out of our room. "What's wrong?" She studied me. "You look like you just saw something that tainted your innocence or something."

She had no idea. "No…I…just really want some ice cream! Let's go!"

This event, I never needed to think of, let alone speak of, again. Not only because I did not want to think of Sakura that way, but because it reminded me of my own boyfriend problems: my severe lack of.

That made me think of my conversation with Ino. I had told her that 'wanting to meet' and 'infuated' were not exactly the right words to describe the possible feelings the red headed boy felt towards me. That is, assuming he felt anything towards me at all. To be honest, I had no idea of the right word for it, but for now I'll settle on 'creeping on'. And that's exactly why he made me feel so uncomfortable.

Not even that, but more electricity sparked through every nerve ending in my body whenever he's around, almost through the surface of my skin, prinkling it. And not in a good way.

It felt innate in a way; feeling that kind of overwhelming sense of danger whenever he was around. It was impossible to ignore. There was a lot about him I didn't know and didn't understand. But I knew I needed to stay away from him.

It was just that simple, but it was just that hard. Because it all seemed so silly, stupid even: feeling like this. It's a relatively safe school. They do background checks. I'd be okay, right? I want to be able to interact with him like I would anyone. I want to be able to not let these feelings get to me. I want to feel...secure...

I want this not to be such a distraction in my life! I've met him once. He hasn't spoken to me, I haven't seen him at all for two weeks. It's safe to say he's out of my life for now (I ignored the fact that I could feel him looking at me during lunch).

Then, why do I think of him?

And, more disturbingly, why did I dream of him last night doing to me what I saw Sasuke doing to Sakura in the janitor's closet?

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**Hope you guys enjoyed this slightly steamy chapter. Review if worthy please! :)**

**More on the way!**


	4. First Words

**Here's the next chapter! The document manager's being a bitch and won't let me center the quotation. Eh, whatever. Enjoy! :)**

**Review if worthy, please! :)**

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A HEART'S HOWL

**Chapter 4: First Words**

"_Give me attention  
I need it now  
Too much distance  
To measure it out  
Out loud  
Tracing patterns across a personal map  
And making pictures where the lines overlap"_

-Paramore

_

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_

Wednesday, you're no better than Monday at times.

I knew she wouldn't listen. This was Ino Yamanaka. You tell her not to find you a date, and she'll find you at least twenty. I should consider myself lucky because she only picked out ten guys for me, only for me to feel like a horrible person for rejecting them one after another, two at a time, after every class until dinner. At dinner she wrangled up three more. I was forced to hide out in the library until I finished my homework. She always went to bed at eleven in fear of early developing wrinkles. I was safe until morning.

It wasn't that any of the guys she picked were particularly unattractive or strange. It's just that I flat out did not want a date to the dance. I did not want to be attached to a person for the entire night when I know it would be much less awkward just to go with friends.

It was two minutes to eleven, I was exhausted, and the last thing I needed was Ino setting me up with someone for Spring Formal.

"Curse you photosynthesis! I don't care how many atoms of carbon you need!" I angrily flipped the pages through my biology book. The test was tomorrow morning and I'm not behind, I just _don't_ understand photosynthesis. "Okay, need to stop thinking about Ino and formal. Must focus. No distractions…"

Then as if on que, that feeling came over me…_great_… "I don't have time for distractions." I reminded myself. "Biology test tomorrow. Must ace. Must ignore…" if I've ignored it easily before, I can do it again. But the feeling wouldn't subside even after twenty minutes. I gave in and looked around the library from where I sat, and no one else was around; not even the librarian. She already went home an hour ago.

I was...alone…in an empty library…with a guy who has major creep potential…

I turned back to my books when the feeling stopped. "He probably just left or something..."

But I was so wrong. HE WAS BREAHTING DOWN MY NECK!

I whip my head around, but No. One. Was. There...!

But I know there was. I'm not paranoid. I'm not imagining it. I felt him breathing on me! I saw his shadow looming over me, over my books.

But maybe I was imagining a few things?

I mean, no one was behind me…and no one can move that fast...it's humanly impossible...

"Okay…" I tried to calm myself… "There needs to be…six? Carbon atoms?..." I double checked the text. "YES!" _Victory!_

And once I was fully focused, the feeling came back. "This is ridiculous."

It's like he's playing with me. It's like he _knows_ he's freaking me out because it's like he knows that I know when he's around…staring at me…_I AM NOT GOING CRAZY!_ _HE'S RIGHT THERE!_

I got a glance of him…he was right there!

I felt him; glanced around and caught a glimpse of him sitting right at that table in the corner! He was looking right at me! And now... he's gone…he's nowhere else in sight now…

But I know I'm not going crazy. I know he was there. I felt him. I felt his presence…and _SOMETHING JUST TOUCHED ME!_ Instinct took over and I grabbed the closest object I could find and practically propelled myself off the wooden chair.

"WOAH! Take it easy!" It was Sasuke holding his hands up defensively. "It's just me!" _Did he grow paler?_

"Oh…sorry…" I put my physics book back on the table. Ino was right. You could use it as a potential weapon. She wasn't just complaining about the size this whole time. But at least I'm not alone now. Even if it is Sasuke.

"Dammit, do you always flip out when someone taps you on the shoulder?" He straightened himself a little and breathed out deeply.

"No…it's just…" Should I be telling Sasuke this? If Kiba or Shino find out, they'd make a big deal out of this. This whole red-headed boy stalking me thing that is, "I'm just…really tired…that's all."

"I can tell. You look dead."

_Thanks._

"I'm just gonna go back to the dorms."

"Alright. But…" He was hesitating about something… "Sakura…" He paused to let his eyes roam around, "…needs to talk to you about something…" _Is he making up a bold faced lie right in front of me right now?_

"Hm?" I yawned. "About what?"

"I don't know. She just needs to talk to you." He made a face like something just hit him that he was supposed to remember. "Now."

"Now?"

"Yes. Now. Go. To Sakura's room. Now." I would have been offended by his demands if his face wasn't so neutral and his voice wasn't so monotone and if I wasn't so tired.

I wonder how someone as outgoing and friendly as Sakura would fall for someone like him? When I was beginning to remember the janitor's closet, I decided to think of something else…

"…Okay?" I yawned again. "It'll have to wait until tomorrow. I'm exhausted and I have a test tomorrow."

"Hn." He stalked off.

"…Thanks…"

_Rude._

I was hoping he'd at least walk me back to my room so I wouldn't have to go alone…I looked around at the empty library and felt another chill come over me. It was seriously time to go.

* * *

Fortunately, no one was following me on the way to my room. No feelings of him at all. That put me at some ease.

I turned the corner to my end of the dormitories and stopped before I walked into someone. I walk around, but he stepped in front of me. I look up and it's the boy with the red hair again.

_What! What is he doing here!_

We made eye contact again but this time he looked...frustrated? angry? I couldn't tell. But he was making me _very_ anxious. There was something about the way he stared that put me at a new level of unease. There was a cold chill and a stabbing thought in my brain that screamed "BE CAREFUL!".

"H-H-Hello?" I found my voice amidst my nervous stuttering.

He didn't answer. His gaze only grew into more of a glare.

Awkward and anxious I tried to cut the 'conversation'. "I must be going." I broke eye contact.

He stepped in front of me again. I didn't look up and avoided physical contact of any kind. Upon taking another step he grabbed me by the shoulders, forcing me to look at him again.

My heartbeat quickened as my eyes widened. His hands were much larger than mine, and so was the rest of him. I could feel the hardness of his hands through my sweatshirt.

"...I...uhh..." I didn't have anything to say, I just wanted to go back to my room where I'd be safe and away from this boy who could very well be – _is_ – a threat to me. _Why didn't I ask Sasuke to walk me back!_

I looked down and jerked away slightly, trying to break loose from his grip.

"Look at me." He demanded as he thrusted me against the plaster wall. My head hit the wall as hard my books hit the floor fallowing a small squeak to escap from my throat out of fear.

He held me in the smaller, darker corridor that would meet the larger hallway, out of the potential sight of others. Everyone's already in a room by now, not to sleep, but to avoid the annoying janitor who patrols the hallways after ten. _Where was he now?_

Besides…_what would he do to me if I tried to scream?_

He moved in closer until his line of sight was aligned with mine. I couldn't move back any further. "W-What are you d-doing?" I want him off of me. I want him away from me.

_What would he be able to do if I didn't scream?_

He didn't answer. Every time I looked away he'd shake me a little until he was able to command my attention.

"L-Let go!" I grew more terrified when he moved in closer again. He was an inch away from my face. I struggled to break away from him. I didn't know if he was trying to force himself on me or what, but I didn't want to find out. He was much too close to me. And he was breathing very heavy. I could feel the heat from his breath in my face, crawling down my neck. I was the same breathing as before - I know it. It was almost hot enough to make me sweat.

He loosened his grip on me once he felt secure I would stay from my lack of movement, but still had me pinned to the wall by my shoulders.

"W-What d-do you w-want?"

He licked his teeth from under his lips, then trailed saliva over his lips afterwards.

_That. Is. Dis. Gus. Ting._

He was leaning in and I placed my hands on his…very hard chest to keep him at a distance. "P-Please s-stop…" I couldn't push him back any further, he was too big and too heavy.

He glared at me then and stopped. Then looked me from the toes up. And I watch his eyes travel over every inch of my body until they met mine again. He did not make a particular expression. His face was neutral. Almost like Sasuke's…but colder…and a little different.

_"...How does he look at me?"_

_"Like he likes what he sees."_

Relief washed over me when he took his hands off my shoulders, but it was short lived. He only replaced his grasp on my wrists and pinned them back to the wall. He was able to move in closer then. The weight of his hard hands was overbearing on my smaller, thinner wrists. There was no way I'd be able to fight him if I could try. I closed my eyes feeling a panic attack setting in.

_'You are useless.'_ There was an echoing of my father's words when I lost my first martial arts tournament. '_All those years of self-defense were a waste.'_

"You're mine." My eyes ripped open at the boy's raspy voice. It was a monotone whisper, but it was thick with intent.

His lips parted to reveal a pair of long, very sharp fangs. I flinched and he tightened his grip on me as he moved in even closer at an agonizingly slow pace. His jaw was widening as the distance between us was shortening.

I closed my eyes and looked away, anticipating a bite.

He was trailing the sharp edges of his teeth along my neckline, sending sparks that sent a chill down my spine, rewarding him with another flinch and another struggle. He applied more force to keep me in place and pressed his body against me as best he could with his height, his hair rubbing against my face. At least his hair was soft in a comforting way for what it was worth.

But after a few long moments, before I broke and let out a whimper, I felt the overpowering weight of his presence lift and the air around me grew cold again. His breathing ceased. He was gone like evaporated water. Staring forward, I felt my back slide against the wall as my thighs met my calves when my knees gave way.

"Hinata!" someone called me. I hugged myself, holding in my urge ot cry. I'm a Hyuuga. Hyuuga don't cry. Especially not in public. Not in front of _anyone_. "Are you okay!" Sakura looked at me with heatbreaking concern and alarming fear in her bright green eyes.

"..I... I-I don't..."

"It's okay, he's gone. You're safe now." She brushed my bangs out of my eyes.

"H-How do y-you know? He followed me, Sakura! He's been following me! What does he want from me, Sakura? And why me!" I was beyond freaking out at this point. But she rubbed my shoulders in a calming way. "Why me, Sakura? I haven't done anything to him..."

I looked to her. She didn't know what to say. She picked up my books from off the floor and helped me to my feet. "...I...have to tell you something." My knees were still shaking a bit, but I was able to walk. "Let's go to my room. There's something you should know."

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**Hope you liked this chapter! Another side of Gaara is unvieled. **

**Please be patient for what Sakura has to say later! Next chapter will be up soon! Review if worthy please! :)**


	5. Chosen

**Hey all! Thanks for the great reviews and the favoriting! Motivates me to write more and gives me a warm fuzzy feeling :) And sorry if Gaara isn't exactly your favorite person right now, but maybe he will be later? He's the way I want him to act as of now.**

**I wasn't thinking about any human vampire hunters or anything of the sort, but I may be open to the idea.**

**Here's the next chapter, hope you like it! Review if worthy, please! :)**

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A HEART'S HOWL

**Chapter 5: Chosen**

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_

Thursday, sometimes you're just a bitch.

It was already seven AM. The alarm sounded and my beloved roomie woke up.

"Did you sleep at all, Hinata?" I was standing at the window, looking out at the sun that rose hours ago. I didn't sleep a wink. But of course I wouldn't tell her that.

"No. Just anxious about the biology test." I lied.

"That's more than usual."

"Yeah, but I still don't understand photosynthesis." That was no lie.

_When we arrived in Sakura's room, she quickly turned on the lights and dropped everything on her desk._

"_Take a seat on the bed." _

_I did so without hesitation. I was exhausted. She had a single; there was no roommate to bother. I really needed the soft comfort only a bed could provide._

"_Okay." She took a seat on her desk chair and began. "Hinata," She took a deep breath, "do you believe in the supernatural?"_

"_Supernatural? Like magic and stuff?"_

"…_Yeah."_

"_Not really. I think it's all made up."_

"…_Well…" She hesitated like Sasuke did in the library. "…Okay…do you…believe in vampires?"_

"Hinata, you're not eating?" Ten-Ten saw that I had nothing in front of me but a cup of hot chocolate that I just stirred endlessly.

"At least have a muffin or something." Sakura handed the small pastry.

I took the offering and smiled in thanks.

She smiled in return. She knew the reason for my lack of appetite.

"…_Say what?"_

"_Vampires." She repeated. "Do you believe in vampires?"_

"_After tonight…" I fell back on her bed and curled up into a ball, facing her, "…I'm not sure anymore…"_

"_It's a simple question." Sasuke appeared out of nowhere, crouching on Sakura's window sill. "Yes or no." He said so matter-of-factly._

"_Sasuke!" She warned him to be a bit nicer, but I wasn't sure if that was possible from how I've seen him interact with people since I've met him._

"_What?" His voice was monotone. "It wasn't like _you_ were about to cry when _I _– " She shushed him before he could say anything else. When it came to Sakura, he was pretty much whipped. When it came to everyone else, he was just like any other asshole out there. "Do you believe in vampires?" He asked again, but then had a second thought, "Actually it doesn't matter whether you believe they exist or not." He jumped onto the carpet – probably for dramatic effect, no doubt. "Because they exist either way."_

_I blinked. "Eh?"_

"_Yeah." Sakura was looking me dead in the eyes. "They exist. I would know. I date one."_

"Alright," the teacher handed out the sheet of paper that would spell out my doom, "you have one hour to complete the exam. You may begin."

I looked at the paper. My mind was blank trying to remember anything I studied. Keeping my head low, I glanced around. Everyone was scribbling furiously. I should do that at least, scribble something. Maybe I'll get some partial credit for whatever BS I can come up with. It's the only thing I can do at this point.

Pencil on paper was all I heard for the next hour. That, and last night.

"_EH?" I looked at Sasuke. He showed me his fangs; longs, razor sharp, very much noticeable as out of the ordinary. They were just like that red-headed boy's, only less terrifying._

"_Wait…" Some things didn't make sense. "You've been out in sunlight! And I saw you eat garlic bread yesterday! You were eating food! And the garlic didn't kill you!"_

_A look of frustration came over him "Oh _god_, I wished people would stop with the _stupid_ garlic thing already! I don't know what dumbass came up with it, but garlic does _not_ kill vampires. I'm clearly alive. At most it would repel a vampire with its smell."_

_However amusing frustrated Sasuke was, I couldn't fully enjoy it. And that is not acceptable._

_"…So i__s it also a myth that you can't go out in sunlight?"_

"_No, that's not a myth." Sakura spoke. "Technically, Sasuke should have be fried up in the sun by now, but he didn't, because he's only half vampire."_

_I blinked, confused._

"_You see," she continued, "full-fledged vampires would burn to dust in the sun, but vampire-human hybrids won't. The human part of them protects them from that weakness. The only downside is that they're not as strong or as fast as other full vampires. Half vampires are really only vampires at night, as opposed to other vampires, who are vampires twenty-four-seven. When the sun is out, the vampire side of them is sheltered inside the human half; the fangs retract, the person looks and functions like a normal human. Sasuke eats food when the sun is out, and his fangs come out when the sun goes down. The most the sun can do to him is irritate his eyes. He won't even burn."_

_Then things made a little more sense. Sasuke would sit outside on the grass, in the sun with Sakura, but he always had sunglasses on, and he was always as pale as a ghost no matter how much vitamin D he got. _

_"Okay…so Sasuke's a vampire…?" I wasn't totally one hundred percent convinced, but for my own sake I think I should be, "…so…that guy with the red hair is also a vampire?"_

_Sakura made a face and looked to Sasuke to answer._

"_Yeah." His face was still neutral. "I've sensed his presence for a couple days now. I knew he was about to bite you when I saw him hovering over you at the library. There's always a look in a vampire's eyes before they strike. He jumped up into the ceiling when you turned around." He smirked. "He wasn't as slick as he thought he was around you."_

"Hyuuga Hinata." The whole class turned their attention towards me.

"Uh…yes?"

"Well?" She must have asked a question.

I looked around, trying to avoid eye contact with Miss Kurenai and every other pair of eyes in my direction.

She sighed, clearly annoyed. "Pay attention."

I nodded solemnly and took my seat. I think I was too distracted to even turn red.

"…_Wait, where were you if you saw that?" I remember distinctly that I saw no one around me in the library. But I could have missed him._

"_In a tree outside. I was reading in Sakura's room, but then I sensed him and went to check it out. I tried to warn you to go to Sakura's room where you'd be safer, but you wouldn't listen to me." He rolled his eyes._

"_Wait," I just realized, "you knew he was about to b-bite me and you l-let me go by m-myself? A-And you let Sakura g-go to get me by h-herself?" I was a bit offended by his carelessness of not only me, but also of his own girlfriend._

_He let out a frustrated sigh. Apparently I missed something very obvious. "He was there in the library when I tried to warn you. Things would've only gotten ugly if I'd stayed. I can already tell he's much stronger than the average Halfling. And there's something animalistic about him. I don't know what it is about him, but he's very different from vampires I've seen. But I do know that if he wanted to, he could have killed both of us. It was actually safer to have Sakura interrupt when he was about to bite you. We hate being interrupted or having an audience when we're about to feed."_

_Images of the janitor's closet came creeping in…that suddenly made sense too…_

"_Besides, Sakura wasn't alone. I was following. You just didn't see me. Unlike that guy, I _am_ slick. And Sakura has already been marked. No other vampire would dare to try and bite her._

"_Wait, I'm confused. First of all, how did you know Sakura would get to me in time, and second, they would die?"_

"_Well, I didn't know." That was not comforting. "But it was better than if I was dead trying to fight him and he had no interruptions when feeding on you." _

_That was a good point I guess… _

"_And it's not that I really had any obligation to save you."_

"He didn't have to be such a jerk about that…"

"Who's a jerk?" Ino overheard me mumbling to myself.

"Hm?" I was spacing out and talking to myself again. "No one."

"Are you okay? Looks like something's bothering you."

"…I just did really badly on the biology test. That's all."

"It's okay. Cheer up! We can have some girl time this weekend!" She gave a reassuring smile before returning to her notebook, but I didn't feel reassured; especially about lying all day.

"_And yes." He continued, "He would die if he tried to bite her. Every vampire chooses a mate. Or more so a mate is destined. A human that is immune to the charms and hypnotizing gaze of a vampire is the mate that is destined for that vampire. I use the word 'destined', but prefer the word 'chance'. It was chance that his spells didn't work on you. It was chance that you had the right blood."_

"_So… your spells didn't work on Sakura when you guys met?" I guessed._

"_Hn." He wouldn't answer directly, but I could tell it was true from the smile on Sakura's face._

_And suddenly, all our encounters made sense. "So all the times he was staring at me from a distance, he was trying to put me under a spell? He wanted to…lure me away…" I had trouble finishing the sentence._

"_Yes. To bite you." He let the words crash over me. It was the truth. But the fact that it was true only made it all the more discomforting._

"___He wasn't just staring at me...he was obbserving me, hunting me all this time…" I mumbled, disturbed by the concept._

"Hinata," Kiba got my attention, "are you going to finish that?" He pointed to my bowl of mashed potatoes. I shook my head and he smiled, swiftly lifting the bowl to him.

"What's wrong, Hinata?" Naruto asked, sensing that I wasn't myself.

I shook my head. All day I was replaying over and over what I found out last night. Even during my biology exam. I could tell that test was going to be an epic fail. And what am I going to tell my father? That I was distracted during my test because I was being hunted by a vampire?

"_Yeah. And it's damn well frustrating when 'the look' doesn't work." He let out a sigh. "Hn."_

"_You see," Sakura continued for him, "vampires…don't take rejection well. They hate being ignored. Believe me, I know. And they get jealous rather easily." She shot Sasuke a look, which he ignored. "So when 'the look' doesn't work, they try it a couple more times until they resort to trying something else to get that person's attention before they bite. Sometimes they want a person's attention before they bite."_

"_Why?" Is that why he hesitated when I almost caught him in the library?_

_Sakura didn't know and Sasuke kept quiet. So I let it drop. But I was still curious, "wait, why would other vampires die if they tried to bite Sakura?"_

"Do you think she'll go with me?" Lee asked me, "To Spring Formal that is?"

I processed that as fast as I could with my lack of sleep. "...It's a little last minute...so maybe? Just try asking her."

"Alright!" He threw a fist in the air and rambling something about youth. But I wasn't paying attention to know what he was saying. I didn't even know who he was talking about asking to the dance.

"_Because," he sighed again, "when a vampire finds a mate, the first bite bonds them together."_

_Seeing that I was having trouble grasping it all, he decided to start from the beginning. _

"_Okay. Vampires drink blood to live. That clear?"_

_I nodded._

"_Vampires also have venom in their fangs. For full-fledged vampires, that venom can either bond a mate to them, or turn other humans in vampires. Halflings can only bind mates to them because, well, they're only half as powerful."_

_I nodded._

"_Okay, as for mate bonding: each vampire has a potential mate somewhere out there, maybe more than one, but they only turn up every few decades or so, maybe sometimes after a couple centuries. There is something in the blood of the potential mate that keeps that human safe from the vampire's spells. That something is called a Character. A Character is…difficult to define. It's just something in the blood, like an antibody. The Character allows the venom of a vampire to bind with the blood of its mate. It's not exactly an antibody, but just for the sake of explaining it to you, we'll consider it like an antibody."_

_I nodded._

Something spongy, but firm hit my face. Then I heard a whistle blow.

"Hinata, are you alright?" I heard Guy ask me when I noticed there was a circle of people hovering over me. I apparently got hit in the face with a dodge ball and landed flat on my back.

"Alright, no sense in starting a new round when class will end in five minutes. Hit the showers everyone."

Everyone dispersed as Ino and Guy helped me up. "No bloody nose, no concussion. It was only a dodge ball after all. Are you alright? You seem very distracted."

I shook my head. "I'm alright." I lied.

"_Anyways, when the venom of a vampire binds to the blood of its mate, the mate's blood becomes poison to other vampires. They would die. If another vampire tried to bite Sakura and successfully draw blood, the vampire would be fatally ill if not dead. Most likely dead. The only exception to that is if the vampire had siblings. If that vampire with the red hair claimed you, your blood would poison other vampires other than his siblings. It's all genetics, but we won't get into that."_

_I nodded and took the time to process that large chunk of information. Sorry photosynthesis, you're not nearly as important right now. I'll regret that tomorrow morning._

Oh, yeah I regret that.

"I'm sure you didn't do that badly?" Kiba tried to comfort me while trying to hover a leaf over his face with his breath.

"I can hear my father now." I felt the grass beneath me, tickling my legs and arms. It felt nice. Comforting, even.

"He needs to relax. I mean, he can't expect too much. You're only human."

"Yeah…only human…"

_It was a lot to let sink in. It was chance that I was immune to his attempts of luring me away… "But why did he choose me? I mean, it's not like he knew I'd be immune to him, right?"_

"_You're right in that he most likely didn't know that you'd be immune to his vampire charm, but it was only fortune, or unfortunate that he would choose you to feed off of. It was probably the smell of your blood that attracted him. Every vampire has a specific taste. And you just happen to smell delicious to him."_

"Delicious!"

That word dragged me out of my thoughts. It was Ten-Ten about to devour a slice of apple pie. And all that time she was eating it, all I could think about was last night…

About, how he was practically on top of me, how he looked at me like I was something to eat, how he was just so rude, demanding, and relentless;

_My heart dropped a little. _

_It was by chance that I'd be immune, but it was also chance that I was chosen. Luck really did work both ways._

How he could've chosen any girl in the whole school, in the whole city, in the whole country, and still chose me.

_"The destined mate for a vampire, will taste especially delicious to him. I can already tell by the way he hunts that he's the kind of vampire that wants what he wants and will not only settle for less, and will continue to chase until he gets what he wants."_

And how I _knew_ in the pit of my quivering stomach, that he wouldn't leave me alone until he got what he wanted…whatever it was that he wanted…

_I paused for a moment, contemplating the situation. "What is it exactly? That he wants?"_

_He looked into my now pleading eyes as I hugged myself, holding myself together._

"_I'm not exactly sure." He paused. "He could just be after your blood. And you might die in the process. But if he wants to claim you, as his own, it's a very painful process for you and how long the process takes is different depending on the person." He looked to Sakura, who was rubbing the side of her neck, apparently remembering when Sasuke had claimed her. He placed his hand on hers and gently guided it off her neck, but kept her hand in his. "And I don't know what kind of vampire he is and how he'll treat his chosen mate. My family was raised on forming a relationship with our mates. Others aren't as caring. There's no telling what he'd do to you once he gets his hands on you." Sakura laced their fingers together._

_Once_ he gets his hands on me? Then there was no escaping him? He would hunt me down for however long it took…and I can't do a thing to stop him…?

If he just wants my blood, there's a high chance I would die.

If he wants me for himself, then I'll suffer in pain for who knows how long until his venom fully bonds with my blood. Then after that is anyone's guess. But I'm afraid of his expectations with _how_ he tried to bite me in the hallway.

I wished there was a third option.

"_And there's no other option?"_

_He shrugged._

"_So what do I do?"_

_He looked thoughtful for a moment. "You're safe when you're around other people, but once you're alone, he'll seize the opportunity."_

"So _I can't be alone for the rest of my life?"_

"_Not if you don't want him to bite you."_

Although amidst this seemingly hopeless situation, it seems I have a choice. I just didn't like the options.

It was either I gave myself up to him, or make sure I wasn't alone for the rest of my life, because he wasn't going to leave me alone until the day I died. I already know I can't fight him and expect to win.

_"And don't kid yourself if you think you can fight him. There are lots of ways to kill a vampire, a wooden stake through the heart, ripping him to pieces and burning them, or burning him whole even. I mean, once he's in human form, he's fair game as any other..most likely. But while in vampiric form, you won't stand a chance."_

I suppose it was a choice of facing my fear, or living with it forever.

Neither option was comforting, and each would give the same level of relief, or lack thereof.

I suppose I have some time to think about it. It's just time I didn't have if I wanted everything to go back to normal. And it was time I needed to not disappoint my father. I suppose at this point, I feared disappointing my father more than being ravaged by a vampire, as sick as it seemed.

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**Hope that didn't give you guys an information overload! Next chappy will be up in soon! I'll be at a beach for the next few days, so it'll probably up in a week or so.**

**And Review if worthy please! I thank you guys for the reviews and support so far! :)**

**PEACE.**


	6. Watched

**EY-YO! So sorry for not being good with updating. My fault for choosing engineering as my major. Anyways, here's the next chapter, hope you like it! **

**Review if worthy, please! :)**

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A HEART'S HOWL

**Chapter 6: Watched**

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_Friday, thank god you've come._

The weekend is here and I can finally get caught up on the material I've been too distracted to learn in class.

"At least you seem more like yourself today." Ino commented.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been really out of it if not downright depressed for the last couple days. We were all beginning to worry about you."

"Oh…" _And I've lied to them for the past couple days…_ "Yeah, I'm okay. Just a lot of stuff going on and dealing with not failing my Fath-my classes, that's all."_And I continue to…_

But what am I supposed to tell them? Would they believe me if I told them the truth or would they think I'm losing it? If they do believe me, would Sakura and Sasuke be mad at me for telling them? I need to talk to them about this…_it was stupid of me not to consider this ealier…_

"Oh hello again!" The man with the blonde hair returned to view the art show as he had said.

"Ohai!" Ino greeted him.

They chatted lightly about what she had painted and I looked around. I knew he was near, somewhere among the crowd. He just hadn't found me yet. I could feel his presence, but not his gaze. His gaze, that is a dead give-away…but his presence…it's ghost-like…like the air around me, suffocating me with his overbearingly thick aura…I'm not talking vampire or evil magic aura…it's something that feels inate in me, in my blood that tells me he's here…and it pulses…

This was ridiculous: feeling like prey whenever he was around. It was like being trapped in my own mind, in my own knowledge of him. And I didn't know what to do about it. I never have to think about it to feel him around because it requires no thought to feel him.

Deidara looked at me when he noticed I wasn't saying anything, so I bid him a nod to whatever he was mumbling about, but then the chill came over me again.

"Are you alright? You look…pale…"

"I-I'm fine."

He was watching me now._ What's his next move?_

Deidara looked confused and looked behind me and squinted his eyes. Is he over there? "Do you know that boy over there?" _But I should be safe in the crowd, right? _"That one, the one with the red hair, yeah?"

I turned around and couldn't find him, but I could feel him watching me now. I was certain of it.

"Oh, he was there a minute ago." Deidara commented, suspicious.

"Is it someone you know?" I wondered.

"Who, that boy?" He seemed caught off guard by the questioned but brushed it off. "No. I was just wondering if you did because he was staring at you." He gave an innocent grin.

"Oh…"

Deidara and Ino conversed themselves further as I excused myself to the ladies room. The feeling was getting to me, to my stomach. I didn't feel very well at all. I didn't know if it was the fear of him, or if it was because of the mystery meat from the other day the chefs reserved for lunch. It was probably both, but I didn't want to see my lunch again.

I quickly turned the faucet and dipped my hands into the cooling, soothing liquid raining from the faucet. "Ah…" I sighed in relief as the cold water washed over my sweaty face; calming sensation rolling over every pore, bringing a little bit of peace of mind back to me. I closed my eyes and buried my face in the paper towel soaked in cold water to subside the slight throbbing in my head. _Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Don't throw up. Don't throw up. It's ok. You'll be fine._ But the pain in my head seemed stronger.

When I lifted the towel from my face and looked in the mirror, I realized that throbbing feeling was the stabbing thought in my brain that screamed 'BE CAREFUL!'.

The towel slipped out of my hand as I stared into his blue eyes staring at mine through the mirror. It wasn't until he started to approach me that I turned around to face him. I tried to run to the door and he appeared in front of me. He backed me into the sink and placed his hands firmly on the sink on either side of me, trapping me. Predictable Predator-Prey "relationship".

I pushed my hands on his chest to keep him away, like before, and this time he stopped moving in.

"Hinata." He uttered my name in a lighter voice than the low one from the other night, but still raspy.

He continued to glare at me and started to say something, but then it hit me: _It's day time! He's human!_

"Liste – " I lifted my leg between his and nailed him where the sun don't shine.

His eyes widened and he bit back a grunt. He backed up a little before dropping to the ground with his head down and his hands over his crotch, giving me the opportunity to escape.

I continued running before hitting something soft and firm and landing on my back.

"Oh my!" It was Deidara that I ran into. "Are you alright, un?"

"O-Oh…Y-Yeah…I'm fine…" He offered me his hand.

"What were you running from?"

What could I say? I was running from a blood sucking vampire that's been stalking me? I'd be locked up in a psych ward before anyone would believe me. "I…uhh…saw a spider…" I felt myself turning pink from embarrassment. My feeling of dread was quickly melting; especially since everyone within a twenty foot radius was now starting at me in dead silence. I might have reached a new shade of red.

"A spider?" He laughed. "Is that all, yeah?"

_I wish._

"I'm sorry, un," He continued laughing, "But, a spider? That's just too adorable of you!"

I smiled at my own cute little lie. I was safe for now anyways. The chill was gone. He probably leapt out the window or something, but he was gone.

But that was strange. I defended myself against a vampire? He was in human form, but still, that has to count for something, right?

* * *

"_Hinata?" I lifted my head from my books to Kiba, who surprisingly had a very serious look on his face. "Another girl disappeared last night." _

"_Another one?" I croaked. My heart jumped. If he couldn't get to me and if he was thirsty enough, he'd find a temporary substitute._

"_Yeah, so please don't study all by yourself in the library anymore?"_

_Kiba had a point. And that's where _he_ stalked me the other night. "Alright. I promise."_

"_Thanks. Oh, and another thing." He gestured his head to the direction of a group of trees where – OH MY GOODNESS HE'S SITTING RIGHT THERE! "Do you know him? He's been staring at you for while now."_

_When I looked up, the boy with the red hair tried to make it look like he has his attention buried in the book in his lap, back against the tree._

"…" What? How could he just sneak upon me like that? I didn't even feel him near…This is not good…what did he do to block off my stalking vampire senses? What did he do?

"_Hinata?"_

"_Wha?" I wasn't paying attention to what Kiba was saying at all._

"_I said," he repeated, "do you want me to talk to him for you?"_

"_N-No!" I practically yelled in panic._

"…_Are you sure? You're really jumpy right now…" He eyes me suspicisouly._

"_No-No…I'm fine…" Eyeing Kiba, but keeping my peripheral open to the boy with the red hair._

"_Whatever you say, Hinata." He went back to lying back on the grass to continue napping, but made sure to add, "Just…stay away from him…" He was serious again, "I have a bad feeling about that guy."_

_I stared at him for a moment. Did he know something I didn't? "…what makes you say that?"_

_He paused. Kiba only paused when thinking to rearrange words. Other than that he speaks on impulse. Something is on his mind. "Just trust me on this. I'm a guy. I can tell he's kind of creeping on you."_

_Of course he didn't know the half of it, but it wouldn't be a good idea to tell him about it. He'd already gotten a second warning for fighting in school. Another and he'd get suspended. "Alright." I reassured him. "I'll stay away." _As best I can…

"Dammit I should be studying, not thinking of him!" My head hit my books again.

"Getting to you again?" Sakura asked, laid out on Ten-Ten's bed reading a magazine. She spent the night at Neji's again, so Sakura kept me company and safe in the meantime.

"Yeah…"

"Vampire boys tend to mess with your head."

"I've noticed." I let out a sigh.

"Well anyways, I need to pee. Want anything at the vending machine while I'm at it?"

"No, I'm good thanks. And please don't take too long."

"Don't worry, I doubt he'll come within a foot of you since you got him in the crotch about five hours ago. It's only dusk. He's probably still recovering from your attack." She laughed.

"Impressive I know. And if I die in your absence, I blame you."

"Yeah, I know. I'm such a great friend." She smiled and closed the door behind her.

An eerie silence fell over the room when she left. "I hope she comes back soon." I jumped every time the tree branch hit the window. Which reminded me that I am an utter idiot for leaving the window open. That's an invitation just screaming "come right on in".

As I pushed the wooden frame down and secured the lock, I fell silent to find him perched on the tree right outside my bedroom, a mere few feet away.

I jumped back and grabbed the closest object I could find to being a weapon…my hair straightener?...and pointed it at him while backing away slowly, but giving myself a chance to open the door and run away if he forced himself in. He didn't move. He just continued staring at me in the creepy way he had every time. Why I didn't feel it I don't know, but it scared me. How is he able to hide his presence from me at will? I don't understand!

It was frustrating and scary at the same time. His gaze was so…cold. I felt the chill wash over me. His blue eyes, glazed over in a relaxed and focused vision, and his face emotionless and stoic. I admit at that point I did realize how good looking he was…

(With the time I could be using to find help or run away, I am so stupid to be using it to stare at him and choose to notice how attractive he is.)

His face had the most distinctly masculine shaping to it and his hair was just the perfect length to run your hands through. His shoulders were broad and strong and well toned, as was the rest of him…I could see a six-pack peaking through his shirt and he just looked so... OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME? HE IS FREAKING SITTING OUTSIDE MY WINDOW PROBABLY WAITING TO RAPE ME OR SOMETHING AND I'M STANDING HERE LIKE AN IDIOT WITH A HAIR STRAINGHTENER IN MY HANDS, STARING AT HIM.

"Hinata." Sakura returned. "Relax." I didn't even hear her come in.

"HE'S RIGHT OUTSIDE MY FREAKING WINDOW! HOW CAN I CALM DOWN?"

"Because he's a vampire. Vampires cannot enter a person's home without invitation."

"…What?"

"I don't know, the way Sasuke explained it confused me, but trust me, he can't get you now." She walked over to the window, closed the curtains, and calmly walked over to me and took the straightener out of my hands.

"Just go back to studying. Trust me that you're safe for the night."

"How can you be sure?" I could not understand how she expected me to be calm about this!

"Because this unwritten thing about vampires not being able to enter without invitation has been around for centuries. You'll be fine. I felt the same way when Sasuke starting stalking me, but this myth help true during every encounter. I'll ask him to explain later, just go back to your studying."

Trusting Sakura, I went back to my desk feeling everything but relaxed. I'm supposed to be able to study knowing that he's perched outside my window probably using vampire x-ray vision to watch me in my sleep or something.

This is becoming too much.

I don't know how much of this I can take with all I have to take care of.

And he was watching me struggle through it all.

It was all so unfair, really. And I don't know what to do about it...

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That night I had a dream. It had to be a dream because I was standing in the middle of the woods alone. There is no way in hell I'd be in the creepy woods next to the school, at night, by myself.

"Hinata." The red headed boy whispered in my ear suddenly as he placed his hands firmly on my shoulders, keeping me in place as he started kissing my neck from behind. I knew it was him because I could feel his eyes on me. It was certainly his low raspy voice.

"S-Stop!" I muttered and tried to flee, but he caught me by the waist and held me in place against his body. I struggled and somehow I escaped his grip. I was either flailing enough, or he let me go, but all I knew was to keep running. I took back and he was gone, I look forward and he's directly in front of me.

That happened at every turn I took and every tree I circled. I ran and continued to run until my legs wouldn't let me run anymore and I collapsed to my knees.

"You can't escape me." My head whipped up at his threatening voice. "No matter where you run, I will _always_ look for you." He appeared in front of me again, kneeling to face me at eye level.

As soon as I moved a muscle he was straddling on top of me. "And I will _always_ find you." He pinned my wrists to the side and leaned in, nuzzling into the crook of my neck and the tip of his fangs just touching my flesh. "Hinata." He said in a slow seductive voice and licked my neck, leaving a chilling wetness on my skin.

The same wetness stuck as the cold sweat on my face when I jumped out of my bed from the nightmare.

Not even in my dreams am I safe from him.

I turned to the curtain blocking him from watching me wake up in a cold sweat from the thoughts of him. He was so close and he was so dangerous.

I did not feel safe around him and I didn't trust him at all.

And for some frustrating and absolutely terrifying reason, I was getting used to the fear and getting used to knowing he was around.

The thing I wanted to avoid the most was happening before me: he was melding himself as a part of my life that I was being forced to accept.

And I hated every bit of it.

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**Sorry again for the long wait on this chapter. I had loads to schoolwork to do. Yay engineering.**

**It was until someone reviewed that I realized I had not described what vampire Gaara looked like so I decided to add that in. Next one up eventually.**

**Thanks for reading and review if worthy please! :)**


	7. Enchantment and Fear

**Hey all! Here's the next chapter, hope you like it! Review if worthy, please! :)**

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A HEART'S HOWL

**Chapter 7:** **Enchantment and Fear**

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_Saturday, sorry I can't afford to spend quality time with you._

"Hinata. You. Are. Going." Ino stomped her foot.

"I can't I have work to catch up on." I argued as best I could in my tired state still scribbling notes on whatever biology I could coherently grasp from the text.

"I'm serious." She took the pencil out of my hand. "You are stressed, worn out, and over working yourself. You. Need. A. Break! And where is Ten-Ten! She should be backing me up on this!"

"She slept over Neji's last night." Sakura answered, taking a sip of tea from her cherry blossom mug.

"UGH!" Ino groaned. "You are taking a nap and you are going to tonight's dance and you are going to have fun. And. That. Is. Final."

"How much sleep did you get last night?" She crossed her arms.

_Before the nightmare? Probably two, two and a half. After the nightmare? None._ "Close enough to three hours."

"Close, but no cigar." She gestured to my bed. "Besides, how do you expect to retain any information when you're too tired to?"

I'm ashamed it only took her ten minutes to convince me. I would usually win against Ino, but I was too tired. I think I do need some sleep.

"At least let her eat lunch first." Sakura intervened. "It's almost noon, you know."

"No, I'll just sleep. I'm not hungry."

"Good you agree." She smiled when I climbed into bed. "I'll see you later when I help you get ready for the dance." She gave her signature wink.

"I'm going to grab something to eat, I'll be back later. I'll borrow your key so I won't have to wake you when I get back. Night!"

"Well," I told myself. "I guess it's safe to sleep during the day now."

I thought it was alright, before having another dream about my personal stalker again. Just. Freaking. Great.

"Hinata." He whispered my name. "Hinata." I 'awoke' to him perched over me, hovering just enough not to touch me as I slept. His hand was reaching for my face until I realized how not in the mood for this I was. My grades were suffering while I was suffering from lack of sleep. Not only that but I have to carry the damn guilt of lying to my friends so much when they genuinely care about me. The least this damn vampire can do is let me sleep for a couple extra hours. He's already got me terrified for about twenty hours of the day. He could at least give me the remaining four. I'm getting really irritated about this.

He touched my cheek and started stroking it, like the creep that he was.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT? CAN'T I AT LEAST SLEEP FOR AN HOUR WITHOUT YOU BOTHERING ME! WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO TAKE YOUR STALKING JOB SO SERIOUSLY?"

He raised an eyebrow looking at me like I'm crazy. "Don't look at me like that! I'm not the crazy one! You try not being grumpy while P.M. and not getting any sleep because a total creep of a vampire keeps haunting you in _YOUR_ dreams! You're the crazy one! Now shut the hell up and let me go back to sleep dammit! I am not happy with my brain for projecting you in so many of my dreams as is!" I huffed and snuggled back in my covers, but not before seeing the look on his face. Priceless.

Buddy, my dreams, my rules.

To be quite honest, I'm surprised at myself, lashing out at him like that, even if it was literally in my dreams. I'll still count it. Then I started dreaming about cotton candy clouds, floating cinnamon bins, and Gai Sensei doing another acrobat move landing him in yet another cast. I don't know why he was in my dream, but it's better than a vampire…now that I think about it, vampires suck. No offense to other vampires out there, but that red headed stalker of mine is no Edward Cullen. (Till this day I curse Ino for getting me hooked on those books. I honestly thought it was badly written and the plot could have been better and less predicatble, but still, having someone like enchanting like that, I would finish the horrid piece of literature for the mere idea of such a man in my life.)

But at least these cinnamon buns and river of strawberry juice tasted good. I smiled and enjoyed the scenery in Hinata world. I've missed it so. But of course a storm of old exams with big fat red F's stamped on them has to blow in like a tunnel of hot air. Then there are floating messages from my father telling me to get my grades up and bantering on about everything else I do wrong in life.

Wow. I must say, I'm very grumpy right now.

Oh well, this cinnamon bun still tastes good.

The cotton candy's not bad either.

Of course I know sooner or later I'll have to wake up, and sooner or later I'll have to deal with him.

I've done enough sooner.

I can wait until later.

And I don't care what Kiba says, I am not going loco in my dreams. They are my dreams after all. Even if I do crazy I can go as crazy as I want in my own dreams.

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Waking up, all was as expected: Ino and Sakura gave me a make-over and forced me into a dress I thought was too short, but if it will shut Ino up, then I'll make it work. Everyone was all dressed up in their favorite colors and everything, red dress for Sakura, pink for Ino, gold for Ten-Ten, lavender for me; not surprised considering it's the only formal event we get to dress up for all year at this school besides mock interviews and those aren't as fun. Sasuke matched Sakura, Neji matched Ten-Ten, Naruto matched Ino. I was by myself (thankful Ino didn't force me into a date). The first time she set me up with someone was Rock Lee, and that was just awkward.

We ended up going late and it was so crowded that I lost my phone in the shuffle of trying to get inside the building without getting run over. It was hot, and my dress was already clinging to my body as I was. We were lucky to be able to find an available table and the punch and deserts were not amazing.

And even though I was still tired and felt the urge to need to study…I was glad my friends made me came. It was…what's that word I haven't used in a while? It was…it was…it was…fun…

Yes, it was fun…I danced for hours like I hadn't in so long since dance classes in middle school. I left all my in ambitions on the dance floor and it was magnificent. I had forgotten how free it felt to move with the music, letting it flow through you, making yourself a part of a rhythm…it was relaxing, it was just what I needed, it was…

"Are you having fun?" Sakura screamed to me through the music.

"Yes!" I shouted back.

The only thing was…

The music was nauseating, which was weird because I loved the songs they were playing. Something was churning in my stomach like a virus. I excused myself and left to go to the bathroom. I was on the verge of vomiting.

Of course. Just when I was having fun with my life. Luckily, I just so happened to have some crackers in my purse to calm my stomach.

"Hinata." Diedara caught my attention, just before I re-entered the dance floor. "May I have a word with you?"

"Oh, hi, I didn't know you were, uh, going to be here?"

"Yes, well, I just wanted to talk to you about him."

I froze for a slight second, but _there's no way he knows..._

"I know about the boy with the red hair."

_...Okay maybe he does..._

"I know he's been following you for the good part of a couple weeks now." He flipped his hair out of his eyes as a breeze came. "And was wondering why you haven't gone to the authorities about it?"

"Uhh...I...It's...I...It's probably just nothing." I tried to convince him to leave it alone. "Yeah I see him around alot, but I doubt he's following me..."

"Let me cut to the chase Hinata, we both know what he is. And even if you're not entirely sure, I am." I placed his hard, gloved hands on my shoulders and looked me square in the eyes and in a very stern and low voice said: "I am giving you a warning that you need to stay away from him." A grin curved over his face. "For your sake, that is."

"Besides…you're much too pretty for him." He ever so gently grazed his lips on the back of my hand and disappeared.

…_what the hell is going on…_

I started to feel nauseated again and went back to the bathroom. Something was quivering in my stomach and I didn't know why. _The only thing I ate were the saltines in my purse…maybe that's it, maybe I didn't eat enough today…_

I looked in the mirror and checked my makeup and cleansed the sweat off my face. I took in a few breaths with a cool wet paper towel to calm myself and to make sure I wouldn't vomit before I returned to the dance floor. Such a silly thing: being more afraid of vomiting in public than of what Dierdara said earlier. I swear there's something wrong with me.

"Don't listen to him." The raspy voice of the red-headed boy was back, and so was the rest of him. I turned to the door to see him in a dress shirt and black slacks – he had to blend in somehow I suppose (He was looking pretty smooth, but damn, I really need to stop thinking about how good a guy looks when he could have possible homicidal tendencies). "We need to leave. Now." He reached for my hand, but I flinched back. "Can you please stop trying to run away from me? We don't have time for this! They're coming!"

"Who?"

"The others. They're after me and they're after you, too."

"Who are the others?" I was beyond confused at this point when there was a crash through the wall and dust was fogging up the whole bathroom. I opened my eyes and the red-headed boy was nearly on top of me, shielding me from the event. _He's protecting me?_ He helped me onto my feet just before the smoke cleared enough to see who forced themselves through the cement wall.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!" I shouted, pointing at the huge bat creature in front of us. It had scary huge fangs, red eyes, ridiculously large wings that probably spanned an easy twenty feet, it was hairy, and it looked mean.

"Dangerous." He stated plainly. The beast was twice his size easy, maybe three times. The thing lunged at him with his fangs out and open, some disgusting white foaming drool-like liquid pouring out of his mouth. "Hide!"

I jumped into one of the stalls as the boy held his ground against the beast and pushed back. The bat tried biting him, but he lifted it as high as he could with the height the beast had on his and threw him into the wall with the window, brick and glass everywhere.

The boy looked at me, to see if I was alright. I stared in enchantment and in fear. This boy is no boy. After all my hopes of him not being a vampire I realized at this moment that he can't be human. He is too fast and too strong for any human to achieve.

"Look out!" I screamed, seeing a shift in the pile of rubble.

An ear shattering screech came from the creature as it bore its fangs at the boy, foam dripping from its mouth. It looked rabid, it looked hungry, and it looked angry.

The boy looked around and found a wooden broom. What could he do with a wooden broom? It would probably break at the point of contact with that thing.

_**SNAP.**_

And it broke in half when the boy swung it at the creature. I was trembling at this point, perspiration starting just under my pores, adrenaline already making its way around my body. The creature pounced on the boy, heaving up a screen of dust.

And then I realized: _Once it's done with him...it's coming after me..._

I closed my eyes shut, waiting for the creature to finish its deed. But then something happened that I didn't expect: the creature let out a cry of pain.

I opened my eyes; the creature was bleeding. I heard one last **SNAP** before the bat beast fell to its side, revealing the boy, unscathed.

_But how? how?_

Then I saw something pertruding from the monster's chest: the wooden broom. It was made into a wooden stake.

The boy looked at his work, making sure it was done. And it was. It didn't make a sound, it didn't twitch when he kicked it. It was dead. It met its fate with a wooden stake; like the myths I've heard about vampires and creatures of the night.

It looked sad almost, covered in its own blood, killed by something that was probably nothing more to the creature than a kebab stick on a regular basis. The look of pain on its face was probably most unnerving though. Something so large, so fierce and powerful, brought down by someone a fraction of its size.

_**CRACK**_.

A piece of cement broke under his foot. _Oh right, personal stalker vampire boy is still here..._

The instinct to run was too strong to ignore. I leaped almost, from the bathroom, through the hole in the wall the body of the creature created, and darted down the hall, with my stiletto heels in my hands.

But wait..._he protected me from the monster...he...saved me almost..._

I stopped running - mostly because my legs were numb and I couldn't move anymore - and collapsed onto my stomach - the nausea was too overwhelming for me to move. I was already in a daze when I noticed him looming over me.

"Hinata." He called my name. "Are you okay?" he asked in a very sincere tone of voice - it was probably sincere, I was out of it, but I think it was sincere enough. I threw my shoes at him, but missed completely. Whatever I had threw off my sense of anything. He caught my wrist firmly, but loosened his grip after he realized I wouldn't be able ot put up a fight this time.

He felt warm, but I was cold considering I was still in my Spring Formal dress. It was comforting if anything...until I felt my head being moved to the side and two sharp points grazing at my throat. And that, along with me managing to whisper "Please don't..." was all I remembered before everything went black.

But realistically, the real last thing I remember was feeling a very soft and comfortable mattress under me and a cold liquid going down my throat before completely passing out.

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**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for the long wait between updates! But I'm on vacation now, hoping to publish at least a couple more chapters before classes start again. Until next time! :)**


	8. Fighting Instability exited&extended

**Hey all! Here's an edited & extended version of this chapter. Hope you like it!**

**Review if worthy, please! :)**

* * *

A HEART'S HOWL

**Chapter 8: Fighting Instability**

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'Was that a dream?' I asked myself as I took my consciousness back from my slumber. I blinked, slowly opening my eyes. I groaned as I slowly lifted my head from the pillow and felt a draft. 'I'M NAKED!' I gasped, snatching the covers up over my cold and exposed self.

"You're awake." A familiar voice made my blood run a little colder than it already was in this freezing room. I turned my wide eyes slowly to see him staring out the window across the room from me. "I'm about to turn around, so you should cover yourself if you don't want me to see you. And before you freak out and accuse me of certain misdeeds, I only undressed you to treat your wounds and nothing more. The dress was in my way and I did not have the patience to deal with it." He gave me two full minutes before turning around. I checked myself and I indeed have bandages around my stomach and my left thigh as well as my right calf and upper right arm.

I didn't know where to start.

He was staring directly at me from across the room. Green eyes focused on me and me alone. He was a lot to take in like that. I noticed the wooden interior of the room, with the shaggy red carpeting, and the single window he stood in front of. I had to admit he looked…fitting in that moonlight. During the day he was damn pale, but at night, he was damn gorgeous.

"Wh-Where am I-I?" I managed to ask in a low, shaking my thoughts of his appearance.

"A cottage on the opposite side of the woods near your school."

'_That forest is freaking huge. I'm freaking far from the school aren't I?'_

"Yes, you are far from the school."

'_What the hell did he just read my mind?'_

He continued to stare.

'_Perhaps not.'_

"W-Why did you b-b-bring me here?"

He took a moment. "Do you remember what happened the other night?"

"T-The other n-night?"

"You've been asleep for almost thirty-six hours. It is now Monday evening."

My jaw dropped. How did I end up sleeping for even more than twenty-four hours? The most I've ever slept is twelve hours.

"How much do you remember?" He reiterated.

I looked back up at him. "The most I remember is…that monster…that disgusting, blood-thirsty…thing…"

"That was my cousin."

My jaw dropped again.

"I do agree, though. He's always been quite disgusting."

"W-What?"

He rolled his eyes, noticing I probably would have no idea what the hell is going on if he didn't explain it all.

"Right, I forgot. I'll pick up from where your two friends left off, that pink-haired girl and that vampire from the Uchiha clan."

'_No doubt he likes to spy…professional stalker after all.'_

"I'll start with that Diedera character. You'll want to stay away from him. He's no good. He is part of the Atatsuki. They are a ban of vampires, full-fledged and Halflings, who hunt other vampires for their marrow. He's after mine and my family's and will go through you to get it because he has already figured that you and I were meant to be mates. That and I'm fairly certain he's attracted to you and your blood as well."

He paused, giving me time to process this information.

"I heard him warn you about me." He continued in small chunks. "But he is the one you should be aware."

I clutched the covers closer to me when I saw him move the slightest inch.

"You're afraid of me." A statement, not a question. I remained silent.

In the blink of an eye his eyes were a mere two inches distance from mine, hands on either side of my head against the wall behind me. His body was hovering over my thinly covered one. He gave me once over with his eyes when he felt me stiffen and twitch, but did not move himself.

Looking into those eyes of his, I felt myself being pulled into a sea of green with speckles of teal and silver; intense to say the least. As captivated as I was by the color and life in those eyes I had to wonder how helpless I would be if his charms _had_ worked on me. I felt the blood fiercely pulsing to my pale face. I could only image how red my face became.

"That's not supposed to happen." He said flatly.

I blinked, confused.

"You're not supposed to be afraid of me." He said in a raspy voice as he began nibbling at my exposed neck with his lips – not with his teeth yet, teasing me. "Why are you afraid of me, huh?" His warm breath wrapped around my naked neck and sent my spine into a submissive shudder. My heartbeat quickened, forcing my breath to keep up. "Why do you always run from me?" I let a small moan escape when he started attacking my neck more roughly with his lips. He leaned in closer to me enough for me to feel the overwhelming warmth of his body, but not enough to touch me.

He stopped abruptly in place at the harsh knock on the door.

"Gaara." Came a female's voice from the other side of the regular piece of wood. "Sorry to interrupt, but this is important."

He let out a disgruntled sigh on my warm skin and gently lifted himself from my personal space bubble. "I didn't know what clothes to bring you, so I collected your laundry you left in the machine a few days ago in your basket and left it in the bathroom." He motioned to the door to the left and exited the room through the door on the right.

I took a breather and let out a huff of panic to calm myself. He was practically on top of me when I was pretty much naked under a blanket. '_Would he have tried anything if he weren't interrupted?_' That thought scared me the most.

"_This may be a little early…" Sakura whispered to me when Sasuke left the room to get something for us to eat, "but I know that when it comes to romance with a vampire, things might escalate quickly in a physical sense. You're a very innocent girl, Hinata. This can be good and bad, but if you become involved with him, he will be you lose your innocence to, if you get what I mean."_

_I looked at her, concerned. I didn't think he could be a threat to that precious side of me that I've wanted to preserve for as long as I could._

"_Without too much TMI, let me just say it isn't exactly going to be a bad experience…" She trailed off on purpose, knowing that I got her implication. "Just don't be afraid, and don't be too attached to anything or anyone."_

I shuddered remembering what Sakura said to me and what had just happened between me and the red headed vampire boy. I was not prepared for anything. But what scared me the most was that I was not afraid.

Using the blanket as a make-shift cover, I made my way to the bathroom, where indeed, my laundry basket sat next to the shower. I turned to the sink and found myself staring into the face of make-up ruined by sweat, gnarled and tangled puffs of hair, and a dirt-touched face. '_He tried to bite this?'_ This, a complete and utterly unattractive mess?

'_Whatever, I'll shower and calm myself for whatever life has in store for me after I step out this door.'_

Lavender shampoo and conditioner, and sparkling peach lotion. _'Did he raid my shower caddy, too?'_

"This would be considered thoughtful, if it wasn't for his stalking tendencies…"

After cleaning myself up, I realized that I did not wash anything that I could consider warm. _'Only shorts and tank tops in this load…'_

Then something of contrast to the white bathroom caught my eyes. It was a set of black sweats. No doubt a male's by the size of them. _'He left me these?'_

"…Okay…I can give him thoughtful I guess…"

Pulling his clothes over mine, I noticed the smell of them: sandle wood. It's faint, but it's definitely there. '_It could not be sandle wood at all, but whatever, it smells good…in a slightly musky masculine way…'_

The hoodie was massive, but at least the pants had a drawstring to keep them up. Wearing just shorts around him was not an appealing thought. I draped the blanket over myself to add more warmth to this frigid cabin. Taking in a deep breath and whatever warm air was left from my shower, I slowly turned the knob on the door and peered into the room.

"No one's here…" I reassured myself.

I stepped out, cautious of whoever or whatever might be lurking around this place. There always seems to be surprises.

"You're done." He said from behind me and I jumped back. I had missed him from behind the door. '_I seriously need to improve on my observational skills._'

"T-Thanks," looking at whatever slight change in his facial expression I could possibly dig up, it seemed he was…satisfied that I wore the clothes he gave me. I wouldn't say happy. But he never looks happy, "f-for the c-clothes." I wrapped the blanket tighter around myself.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, there was a disturbing growl sound. It was low and seemed to tremble as it gurgled around the room. I looked around, trying to find where that strange noise was coming from.

"You're hungry." He said flatly. "I'm guessing you haven't eaten anything since those crackers in your purse that Diedara spiked. '_What do you mean 'guess'? I know you follow me around you would know when I ate last! And wait…'_

"…spiked?" I stared at him, mouth agate.

He started towards the door and motioned for me to follow. I didn't want to, but I didn't want to be alone in this unfamiliar and slightly creepy place. '_Ugh…I'm finding comfort in his presence aren't I? DAMN IT._'

He continued explaining as we exited the room and walked a short hallway to the kitchen.

"He spiked your crackers with a sleeping drug. I'm not certain, but I'm assuming his plan was to knock you out and kidnap you for ransom to lure me out." He took out a pot and starting boiling water. He then went into the refrigerator and took out some sauce, meats, and assorted vegetables. From the cabinet he took out some jars of spices and a box of spaghetti noodles. '_Is he really cooking for me? How…sweet…_'

"It would have worked if my cousin had not escaped from his prison and tried to eat you." He continued to explain as he cooked. "It seems he took a liking to your blood as well." He paused and motioned to the wooden table to have a seat. "My cousin was a very power-hungry Halfling. He did experiments, trying to make himself a full vampire. I'll spare you the details on that, you have enough to process through as it is."

I nodded in compliance.

"Long story short, his experiments did not go well and he ended up like the beast you encountered Saturday night. Turns out he had already ambushed the Atatuski out of hunger and ate one or two of them before I incapacitated him. How many and who he ate, I am not sure, but that can only work in our favor. The only down side is that they will probably call for back-up from other members."

The water finished boiling by the time he finished cutting the vegetables. He tossed the pasta in the pot and starting cutting up the meats. '_He's either working slowly on purpose, or he enjoys cooking. I can't deny that I would love a man who will cook for me…_'

I literally slapped myself across the face to wake myself up. Shaking my head, I could feel his eyes on me, probably wondering if I had gone crazy for slapping myself across the face. '_If he still finds me attractive in the morning, he probably doesn't mind me being crazy either._'

Instead of thinking of certain possibilities in terms of relationships, I _should_ be asking about how my life is in possible mortal danger at the moment.

"Where d-does that l-leave us n-now?"

He took his time articulating his words. "We fight for our lives."

'_Wonderful._'

"So far it's me, my brother, my sister, you, and another friend of mine. He's a complete moron at times, but he's strong and he's loyal, as loyal as the dog he is."

I raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "W-What's the chance of t-talking it out with them? The o-ones after your m-marrow that is?"

"Slim to none. More likely the latter. They do not talk. They take. They only talk as a means to take. They'll probably find us soon. I covered our tracks enough to give us a few days. At most five days."

I sighed. "At least my friends are safe."

He stopped abruptly, dropping a sauce pan.

"They _are_ okay, right?" I asked him, on the verge of panic.

"Some of them were sent to the emergency room." He was hesitant.

"But they're okay, right? RIGHT?" I wanted him to tell me everything was alright, that everyone was safe, and that they would be unharmed from this entire situation.

"One or two of them might not survive. They were in very bad shape when I took you from the forest. They got caught in the cross fire when they went to look for you."

_'They got hurt. My friends got hurt.'_

"They were in very bad shape when I took you from the forest."

_'They got badly hurt and are in the hospital.'_

"They got caught in the cross fire when they went to look for you."

_'They went to help me and got hurt.'_

_'I could have told them the truth from the beginning and they could have stayed away.'_

'_I don't understand. How did I get in this mess?'_ I think these things to myself and then notice warm breath down my neck again. This time, with his hands firmly on my shoulders.

He took in a breath. "You're so…" he exhaled, "…you smell so…" he took in another breath, "…delicious…" his face buried in my neck.

I tried to stay calm, but couldn't contain myself when his hands reached my waist. I was already on the other side of the table with a frying pan in my hands as I viewed the hand print I left on his face.

'_Oh great…he might kill me now…'_ I realized.

I blinked and his stoic face was two inches away from mine and his hands gripping both of mine on either side of me.

"You know you're really sexy when you're mad…" he said down my neck in a raspy voice and began nibbling on my flesh.

"S-s-stop!" I was so sick of this. "I am so sick of you attacking my neck all the time! Nibbling at me like I'm a piece of meat! I'm so sick of you invading my space all the time and above all I am so sick of being afraid of you! I am just so sick of you as a person! I never wanted this and I never wanted to be hunted down by a ban of evil vampires! I never wanted my friends to get hurt! They care about me! They shouldn't have gotten hurt! If you had left me alone from the start I wouldn't even be in this mess!"

He backed away an inch or two, and stopped to look at me.

The tension in the room was ridiculous. We stared at each other in silence for what felt like an eternity. My body began to tremble out of fear of what he'd do next and from the cold draft. The worst part of the situation was not the fear, but the awkward silence that was killing me. It was the kind of silence that's choking. I was saved when the water in the pot starting spilling out to add the sound of sizzling water on the stove.

He broke eye contact and began placing food onto some a dish and left it on the counter. "You should eat." He left the room.

'_What? Is he mad at me? Did I offend him? All he wanted to do was help me…but he can't just respect my personal space…'_

"Ah!" I Exclaimed and cradled my head in my hands as I dropped down into a fetal position and sat on the cold marble flooring. "I am so confused."

I started crying like a mad woman until the food went cold, but I ate it anyway to show my appreciation. I found the door to the patio and exited the kitchen to the backyard to get some air. I sat next to the beautiful fountain in the middle of the garden and stared at the moon and the stars and wondered if I wished hard enough, everything would be back to normal. I started to cry again and watched my tears create ripples in the fountain pool. I looked at my wounds and knew that this was more real than any wish I could ever make. None the less, there is a part of me that knows I need to get a grip on myself if I want to see this thing through.

_I feel guilty I flipped out on the guy who has saved my life on more than one occasion and took the time to cook me dinner that he didn't even eat himself._

_I feel lost as to what is happening back at school and if anyone has reported me missing._

_I feel worried that my friends are worried about me and stressing themselves out._

_I feel stressed of how much work I have to do and how much my father will go bat shit crazy on me._

_I feel targeted, like I am being hunted for no good reason._

_I feel helpless in this entire situation._

_I want to sleep, wake up, and find that this entire thing is some horrible dream._

_But my worst fear knowing that there is more to come._

_I want to fix things so bad that it hurts._

_But I don't know how._

My thoughts were interrupted by a blanket shielding my shoulders and arms from the cold night air. "Thanks." I knew it was him.

He sat next to me and looked at me through the reflection. He remained stoic. If he was upset, angry, or hurt, it certainly did not show.

"I'm sorry." I interrupted whatever he was going to say.

He nodded and pulled me close to him, as if we were familiar with one another like that. I suppose we were at this point if we were fighting for our lives with each other. I was only thankful he accepted my apology. He held be tight to him and dug his face into my neck again, but I let him. As much as it bugged the hell out of me, I was getting used to him doing that. I was beginning to get used to a lot of things about him and about the world I was dragged into. I just didn't expect myself to not be afraid. And that's what scared me the most about myself.

I expected to be running for the hills or panic and call the police or start going mad and try to knock him out and steal his car to drive back to school or something. But I'm not. I'm here, at a fountain, cuddling with the creepy vampire boy that has been stalking me for I'm not even sure for how long.

Even if he's crazy, I'm crazier for allowing myself to be closer to him.

"_Love makes you do crazy things." Sakura smiled at me before Sasuke returned with two sodas._

'_But I don't love him.'_ I thought to myself.

"I don't believe in love." I blurted out to my stalker.

He looked up at me, and for the first time, he smiled.

"What?" I was annoyed that he started chuckling at me.

He shook his head and I pouted. "What!"

He got closer to me and whispered: "Love is never a choice." He chuckled under his breath. "And it never will be." He got up and offered his hand to escort me back into the house. "But for now," he flashed a gorgeous grin, "I'm not complaining."

We walked into the kitchen and I noticed something in his words. "Wait…you don't mean…" I wasn't sure of his implications.

"I don't mean anything." He continued to smile. "You're over thinking it."

He said that so surely.

The only thing I'm sure of is that I wanted to smack him.

But I couldn't help but grin myself.

'_Damn vampires.'_

* * *

**Oh, Gaara, playing with words I see. Don't you hate it when your potential mate is purposely unclear in communicating? ;)**

**Hope you like the story so far :)**

**Review if worthy, please! :)**

**PEACE!**


	9. Family

**Hey all! ****I've been busy applying to grad school, but found some time to upload another chapter! Hope you like it! :)**

**Review if worthy, please! :)**

* * *

A HEART'S HOWL

**Chapter 9: Family**

_"But we are the same blood_  
_ All of us, we are, we are_  
_ While half of us were lost_  
_ The other half forgot_

_ We are the same blood_  
_ We are the same blood_  
_ We are the same"_

_-The Academy is..._

* * *

After meeting Gaara's brother and sister, I was completely convinced that I had gone crazy. His brother had the ability to turn corpses into puppets with his special blood, and his sister had the ability to manipulate the wind with her wings. I was surprised to even see an actual pair of vampire wings in the first place, let alone other special powers. Even when standing, just the flap of her wings could create gusts of wind that were as sharp as blades. His brother showed me his puppet collection, but I couldn't stand in his room for more than five minutes with the overwhelming stench of dead bodies.

"_Where are we going?" I asked him as he led me down another hallway._

"_To meet my brother, Kankuro"_

_We stop in front of the furthest door and knocked. "You may be disturbed by the smell."_

'I'm only disturbed by the fact that I'm meeting my stalker's family.'

_Once Kankuro opened the door, the most disgusting stench mixed into the air: corpses. Rotting, festering, decomposing corpses._

"_Hello there!" He winked at me. "She's cute!" He smirked at Gaara._

"_Yeah." Gaara remained as expressionless as ever._

"_Oh don't be so grumpy." The boy with the purple tattoos on his face chuckled._

"_We need to plan fast. The Atatsuki will be here in a matter of days." Gaara was getting annoyed with his brother's sense of humor. Looking closer at him, Kankuro looked very familiar…WAIT! He's the bully that threw apple sauce at Lee's face! That asshole! Gaara's related to him…just freakin' great!_

"_I found a nearby graveyard and dug up a few more dozen bodies. By tomorrow we can have a dead army of about a hundred or so at least. Aiming for at least two hundred in two days. Do you think that will be enough?"_

"_I'm not sure. Better to over-estimate than under-estimate." He picked up some papers and scanned through a map of some sort._

"_Very true."_

_I could barely focus on the conversation at hand. I was too busy covering my nose, sticking by the door where there was air. It was bad enough that we're getting help from a freakin' prick like Kankuro, but I was getting nauseous from the smell. I did not want to see the pasta again._

"_The smell bothering you?" Kankuro asked me, a little surprised. "…wait…" he looked at Gaara, "I knew her pulse was too strong, dammit, Gaara, why didn't you bite her yet?" _

"_Now is not the time-"_

"_Gaara, if you don't bite her, she will only get in the way. She won't be able to defend herself! You can't defend yourself and her and expect us to get away alive!" Kankuro was getting frustrated._

"_Sorry I'm going to need to talk to my brother alone for a moment." He gently shoved me out of the room and locked the door._

_I knew the whole biting thing was going to come up in conversation eventually. I just didn't think my life could potentially depend on it._

This all happened last night after I yelled at him, but waking up again in the morning made it all seemed like a dream. I couldn't recall all the details, but the main points stuck. Too bad I couldn't do that for stupid biology. The rest of the time I spent thinking about what was going on between him and I. And whether or not I would be marked, or turned into a vampire. I wasn't sure which would be better or worse.

_The walk to his sister's room was awkwardly quiet after Kankuro's bad timing at bringing up conversational topics._

"_Temari is not very friendly. Don't be offended by whatever she has to say. She insults everyone." He warned me._

"_Excellent." Are both his sibling going to be that difficult? Another reason to love his family._

"_Temari." He knocked on the door._

_Seconds later, we were greeted by a girl with four blond pigtails and the most beautiful teal eyes I'd ever seen – with the exception of her red-headed brother's._

'Dammit Hinata there you go again. You're not together. Sure he saved your life, cooked you dinner, and comforted you when you cried, but still!' I reprimanded myself. I was slowly getting used to my logic slowly slipping away from any confines of my mind. I was even getting used to him invading my personal space. And I hate when people invade my personal space.

"_This is her?" Temari deadpanned._

_Both eyes were on me._

'Are all vampires this bad at socializing or just his family?' I was dying to know.

"…_H-Hi…" I held out my hand nervously. "I'm Hinata."_

_She glared at me for a moment and let my hand hang in the air. "Mhm. Temari. Don't make me mad and I won't kill you."_

_I went pale for a slight second. She could very well kill me, but Gaara wouldn't let her, right?_

"_Temari, Kankuro is planning for at least one hundred by tomorrow."_

"_Hm." She looked thoughtful. "Hopefully that might buy us more time if anything."_

_The intimidating girl turned her attention back at me. "You didn't bite her yet, did you?" She stated, not questioned. "Well. When you do, don't disturb my beauty sleep. The cry of humans annoys me. Or should I say 'if you do'. It's never too late to find someone less mousy."_

"_Temari. She's feistier than she looks."_

"_We can only hope she can't completely defenseless or useless."_

"_Temari." Gaara warned._

"_Sorry, I'm in an off mood today." She turned her back and made her way towards the balcony at her window._

_Gaara took my hand and led me into the dragon lady's cave. I did not want to be near her, let alone in her private room, but I guess I am 'meeting the family'._

_Entering her room, I got a full view of her fierce black bat wings. They spanned a length longer than my height and had razor sharp spikes at the end of each digit._

_Looking around I noticed she liked collecting bones, mostly skulls. And even stuffed animals?_

"_Your mystery man sent you another stuffed animal?" Gaara picked up a stuffed polar bear and examined it._

"_Hm." She smiled. "Yeah."_

_He handed her the bear and she looked at it with a smile. Then the smile dropped. "He sent it as an apology for being a complete idiot." She stepped towards the balcony and spread her wings. Without a second thought she threw the bear into the air, tensed her wings, and with one flap, sent the bear flying out into the night in shredded pieces. The white stuffing and the white fabric floated away and disappeared into the darkness of the night. "He needs to do a lot better than a stupid bear." She spat._

_I almost saw myself in that poor bear. She really could rip me to shreds if she wanted. Needless to say she'll be on the "to-avoid" list._

I wouldn't mind if meeting his sister was a dream. Kankuro I didn't mind as much, but Temari I wouldn't mind not meeting any time soon. Possibly ever. But then I realized that whether or not I liked Kankuro or Temari didn't matter. Because they were technically all the family he had. Who else he had I had no idea, but it made me feel...good...that he wanted me to meet them. He didn't have any expectations for me to meet them. Of course they were discussing battle tactics I didn't understand more than half the time, but they...didn't treat me any different than they treated him. It's like they accepted me, no matter how mean they actually were. That made me happy. But it also made me sad knowing that a clan of blood-sucking vampires were more accepting of one another than my own family. Thoughts were flooding back about how my father or Neji would react if they found out what was going on. How would they feel if they found out that I was...being courted? by a vampire...

I sighed and looked out the window from my bed and could barely make out any sunlight. It was morning, but it was so misty it looked like night.

There was a knock on the door and for some reason I knew it was him. "Come in."

He swung the door open and closed it behind him in one graceful motion.

"Sleep well?"

"I don't understand why I'm sleeping so much. I slept for over thirty hours the other night and I can still manage to sleep."

"I'm not sure what Diedara gave you, but it was definitely potent."

'_That was not comforting to hear.'_

He sat next to me on the bed and began staring at me again.

"Can you stop doing that?" I said bluntly. "It's really creep-" he completely cut me off with a kiss. I was too shocked for proper words.

He backed away just enough to monitor my reaction. When I didn't say anything, he took it as permission to attack my lips again with his. But this time with more force and ran his hand through my hair and pulled me closer to him with his other hand.

I didn't know what came over me, but I ended up running my hand through his hair and started to embrace him too. My body was on fire and I couldn't stop kissing him. This never happened to me before. I've never been attracted to anyone like this before. I had never been touched by anyone like this before…I've never touched anyone like this before!

I couldn't help but starting thinking it looked like a make-out scene from a sappy romance movie: two hormone-crazed teenagers all over each other. From a practical perspective it was wrong. From the perspective of the one in the scene, it felt so right…

…until I started to feel his hand snake its way up my shirt…

"Woah!" I pulled away and pushed him away. "What do you think you are doing?"

"I would prefer to take your clothes off for you, but if it makes you more comfortable, you should do that part."

"...what?" my jaw dropped.

He looked at me with confusion. "...Do you need for me to explain what intimacy is?"

"Uh, no, I want you to explain to me why I would do anything with you, ever!"

He looked at me with an amused look. "Oh, was I mistaken in thinking it was your hand in my hair while we were just kissing?"

My face started burning from the shade of red that was taking over.

"Kissing you does not mean I'll have sex with you!" I almost screamed at him. Sakura was right. These damn vampires are horny muthafuckas. Pardon my French.

"I'm sorry." He seemed sincere, and was definitely confused. "I did not realize that… this was too fast for you."

'_Did he just say that? He didn't even really ask me out or to be his girlfriend. Did I miss something here? Did I accidentally agree in a vampire-sign kind of way and not realize?'_

"Since when are we together?" I asked flat out.

'_Hinata, let's review.' I tried to reason with myself, 'He's been following you for…months maybe, tried to…talk to you on occasion (okay, maybe not 'talk' but whatever). He's saved you from his monster of a cousin and protected you when Dierdara spiked your crackers. He patched up your wounds (even if he did see you naked he didn't try to take advantage of you) and brought you clothes. He cooked you dinner! (Can never get enough of that fact), left you alone to sort out your feeling when you yelled at him, and even though you did yell at him, put a blanket over you and comforted you when you were crying. And…he introduced you to his family. That's definitely a sign that he likes you enough not to drain your blood and kill you.' I was not sure if I liked where this reasoning with myself was going._

He looked me dead in the eyes for a creepy moment before answering. "Since I realized my vampire charmed did not work on you. But really when you stopped being afraid of me. It's the sign that you're comfortable around me. I'm never used to that. Usually people stop at fearing me."

"Not comfortable enough for intimacy! And I never agreed to be your freaky vampire mate!"

"Are you disagreeing now?" he asked me seriously and I did not have an answer.

I surely didn't disagree but I wasn't sure if I was agreeing either.

"You really are different than what I expected." He smiled.

I shot him a look.

"I'm not complaining." He teased. "And I'm sorry about trying to seduce you just now. I forgot most humans move slower than vampires do." He rolled his eyes. Apparently he's no novice when it comes to intimacy. "Are you mad?" he asked sincerely, noticing my exasperated expression.

I chuckled and shook my head. I guess I didn't disagree after all.

"So..." I broke the slightly awkward silence. "How many vampire girls have you been with...?" I teased, but I really did want to know.

He smiled. "From watching my sister reactions to her boyfriends, I have learned that this is where I walk away slowly..."

"Oh no you don't!" I latched onto his arm.

I was not letting him off the hook for this one.

"Let's get you something to eat." He continued avoiding the subject.

I pouted. He's just as stubborn as Naruto.

* * *

**Things are getting serious between then, huh?**

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